Google Plans $7B U.S. Investment In Offices, Data Centers, Jobs

The expenditures will target new locations for Google and expansions of existing facilities as the technology company seeks to play a part in what CEO Sundar Pichai sees as a ‘lasting’ economic recovery for the United States.

Google plans to invest more than $7 billion in U.S. offices and data centers and create at least 10,000 new full-time jobs across 19 states this year.

The expenditures will target new locations for Google and expansions of existing facilities as the technology company seeks to play a part in what Sundar Pichai, CEO of Mountain View, Calif.-based Google and parent company Alphabet, sees as a “lasting” economic recovery for the United States that will come from local communities and small businesses following a year upset by the global coronavirus pandemic.

“Not only will these investments enable us to create new opportunities in the places where we operate, they’ll also make it possible to provide products and services that help boost economic recovery,” Pichai said in a blog post today.

Google has more than 84,000 full-time employees in the United States and has data centers and offices in 26 states, according to the company. Last year, Google Search, Google Play, YouTube and Google advertising tools helped provide $426 billion of economic activity for more than 2 million American businesses, nonprofits, publishers, creators and developers, according to Google’s 2020 U.S. Economic Impact Report released today.

Google is expanding data centers in Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Loudon County, Virginia. Its $600 million-plus data center in Papillion, Nebraska, will be fully up and running this year, along with its $600 million data center in New Albany, Ohio, and another $600 million data center in Midlothian, Texas. Development of all three sites started in 2019. In Henderson, Nev., Google’s second $600 million data center went online in February, and the company said it would expand that data center and another in Storey County, Nev., this year.

“Our data centers are what powers your searches, emails, photos and the maps that help you find the fastest way home,” Pichai said. “They’re also important to the fabric of local communities, from providing opportunities for supply chain partners and small businesses to supporting distance learning in South Carolina and Nevada.”

“Google‘s investments are a testament to its position in the market,” said Jamison Nack, vice president of alliances for AHEAD, a Chicago-based Google Cloud partner and enterprise cloud solutions provider. “It’s not only a commitment to economic recovery, but an indicator that Google is committed to continually strengthening relationships with partners.”

Google’s Office Expansion Plans

Google will invest more than $1 billion in its offices located in its home state of California, where its Bay View campus that’s under construction in Mountain View will open this year.

“Coming together in person to collaborate and build community is core to Google’s culture, and it will be an important part of our future,” Pichai said. “So we continue to make significant investments in our offices around the country.”

It’s also targeting expansion of its offices in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., where it plans to add “thousands” of new jobs.

“This will help bring more jobs and investment to diverse communities as part of our previously announced racial equity commitments (made last June),” Pichai said. “We’re already making progress: 2020 was our largest year ever for hiring Black and Latinx Googlers in the U.S., both overall and in tech roles.”

In the South, Pichai said Google is establishing a new cloud engineering site in Durham, S.C., and opening its new Reston, Va., office building this year. It’s opening its first Houston office and expanding its Austin campuses in Texas. Google also will invest in its Atlanta campus and debut the first U.S. Google Operations Center in Southhaven, Miss.

Google’s Midwestern plans include improvements to its offices in Ann Arbor and Detroit, Mich., and Chicago.

In the East, Google will continue to expand its New York presence to meet its 2018 commitment to double its workforce there by 2021. It will continue building out its Cambridge, Mass., and Pittsburgh offices, and increase its employee count in Washington, D.C., according to Pichai.

In the central and western portions of the country, Google will open its new office in Portland, Ore., while continuing to invest in its Seattle and Kirkland, Wash., campuses.

“As a Premier Google Cloud partner with on-shore-only cloud delivery centers, we are excited to see Google invest locally,” said Christophe DeMoss, global lead of the Google 360 practice at Seattle-based Slalom. “This creates opportunities for our people throughout our markets to partner with Google on projects that combine Slalom expertise with Google technology, helping our customers and our communities build for the future and accelerate economic recovery.”

Google’s “commitment to growth, community and the transformative power of digital transformation aligns perfectly with Rackspace Technology’s own mission,” said Jeff Deverter, chief technology officer of solutions at the Windcrest, Texas-based company, a Google Cloud Managed Services Provider.

“We are delighted to be on this journey with Google,” he said.