Telecom network vendor Ericsson will relocate its Montreal-based Research and Development (R&D) and Services Centre to a new site located on Poirier St. in Canada.

The 265,350 square feet facility will be home to the company’s more than 1700 employees. The move is expected to start at the end of 2016.

Mark Henderson, head of Ericsson Canada, said: “Ericsson’s new location will offer our employees the opportunity to work in next-generation buildings, designed to increase employee collaboration through flexibility and efficiency.”

Ericsson has more than 3,500 employees across the country. In 2014, Ericsson invested more than $317 million in Canadian R&D, and ranks as one of the Top 10 R&D investors in the country with a total R&D investment in Canada of more than $4 billion CAD.

The Montreal site has contributed 465 patents to Ericsson’s patent portfolio since 1986.