Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced on Wednesday its expansion plans which include building its footprint in 11 US states. The company has pledged to invest “more than $10 billion” in offices and data centres in California, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. “These investments will create thousands of jobs – including roles within Google, construction jobs in data centres and renewable energy facilities, and opportunities in local businesses in surrounding towns and communities,” Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said in a blog post.
This year Google plans to open its new Hudson Square Campus in New York City, a new operations centre in Mississippi and a new data centre in Iowa. The company will also open a “major development” in Kirkland, Washington, later this year, and a massive office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is still “under development.” As the US manufacturing sector sheds jobs and concerns about outsourcing and automation grow, Google’s US- heavy investment plan comes across as a diplomatic move.
Last summer, Google pledged to invest $1 billion in new housing in the Bay Area, a project that it claims will accelerate in 2020. “Everywhere we invest, we strive to create meaningful opportunities for local communities,” Pichai wrote. “A powerful example is our data cent
The portfolio however, is not as ambitious as last year’s plan where Google pledged $13 billion and vowed to expand to rural areas in states like Nebraska, Nevada, and Oklahoma.