Swedish multinational hygiene and health company serving over one billion people globally. Essity has run a Business Service Center in Lisbon's Parque das Nações since the second quarter of 2023, now employing about 400 professionals across finance, IT, and human resources functions supporting European operations.
Essity has operated in Portugal since 1994, but significantly expanded its footprint with a major Business Service Center in Lisbon's Parque das Nações district, announced in 2022 and operational since the second quarter of 2023. The five-floor facility serves as a hub for shared services across Essity's European operations, consolidating finance, IT, and human resources functions that previously operated across multiple locations. The Lisbon center now employs about 400 people from more than 30 nationalities, reflecting both the company's commitment to Portugal and its use of the market as a gateway for continental European operations.
The strategic move to Lisbon reflects a broader trend of Swedish and Nordic companies establishing shared-services centers in Portugal — a market with lower operating costs than Sweden or other Western European hubs, strong English-language workforce capabilities, and reliable infrastructure. Essity's brands (TENA, Tork, Libero) remain widely distributed through Portuguese retail channels and healthcare systems, while the Lisbon team handles back-office optimization for the wider European region.
Essity's Lisbon Business Service Center demonstrates how mature Nordic multinationals are using Portugal not just as a consumer market, but as an operational hub for European efficiency. The roughly 400-person team handling finance and IT for a global hygiene company signals confidence in Portuguese talent and regulatory frameworks — and often serves as the entry point for other Nordic companies evaluating the market.
Correction, 9 October 2026: An earlier version of this profile said Essity had been in Portugal since 1998 and that its Lisbon center opened in 2022 in a four-floor facility with 200+ staff from 19 nationalities. In fact Essity has been in Portugal since 1994; the center, announced in 2022, has been operational since the second quarter of 2023, occupies five floors and has about 400 staff from more than 30 nationalities (Forbes Portugal, Diário de Notícias).
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