Google says it’s doubling down on the desktop.
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The unit said it will spend $ 7 billion this year to expand its U.S. office and data center footprint, including pouring $ 1 billion into its home state of California. The search engine giant has said it will hire at least 10,000 new full-time employees during the year, awaiting a post-pandemic recovery in the US
The spending commitment follows a slowdown in investment by Google about a year ago, as the magnitude of the Covid-19 crisis began to take shape. Last April, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees in a note that Google would slow down the pandemic.
Like other large technology companies, Google has flourished in the last year, benefiting from an accelerated shift in online advertising spending. Despite this increase, US investment planned for 2021 is lower than pre-pandemic levels; has invested an annual average of $ 11 billion in 2018 and 2019.
The company said that this year’s investment plan addresses existing sites, but also creates three new office sites in Minnesota, Texas and North Carolina, extending Google’s presence to 19 states. The company said it will add thousands of roles to existing sites in Atlanta, Washington, DC, Chicago and New York, extending pressure for years to expand its footprint beyond Silicon Valley. Alphabet has reported more than 135,000 employees worldwide since last year.
“Coming together in person to collaborate and build community is essential to Google’s culture,” Mr Pichai said in a blog post on Thursday. “And it will be an important part of our future.” Google’s announcement comes about a week before Mr. Pichai appears before Congress with Facebook CEOs Inc.
and Twitter Inc.
for a hearing about misinformation on internet platforms.
Google has more than doubled the number of data centers in the US since 2018, reflecting the growing volume of digital information generated daily by individuals and companies. The company has invested heavily in its cloud business in recent years, while looking for growth beyond its bread and butter advertising revenue. Last year, it began breaking revenue for its cloud unit, bringing sales up 46% to $ 13.08 billion from 2019. Expenditures rose 51% to $ 5 billion over the same period.
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The expansion of data centers by Google and other technology companies typically provides a blow to construction-related jobs, but requires minimal staff once they are completed. The facilities can often be the size of a Walmart Supercenter, but employ less than 100 people to take care of the equipment.
Google’s announcement also comes as large companies rethink their office work after a year of many employees working from home. Google was one of the first large corporations in the US to formally extend the time for employees to work remotely, deciding last summer to keep staff working from home until at least July of this year. As Covid-19 cases stabilize or decline in many places and vaccinations increase rapidly, directors are now discussing when and how to return to office.
The search giant now expects employees to return to the offices in the fall and plans to allow workers to go two days a week. The policy differs slightly from other technology companies, such as Twitter and Facebook, which intend to allow more employees to continue working remotely after expanding vaccine distribution.
Other technology companies have accelerated investment outside the Bay Area. After encouraging employees to experience remote work from other locations, many chose to make these moves permanent. Austin, Texas, has been a hot spot for technology employment.
Write to Parmy Olson at [email protected] and Tripp Mickle at [email protected]
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