Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) says it will spend $7 billion U.S. on real estate across America in 2021 as it ramps up spending in the wake of the global pandemic.
The company said the money will go toward expanding offices and data centres across 19 states, creating at least 10,000 full-time jobs from the investment. Google plans to spend at least $1 billion in California.
"We continue to make significant investments in our offices around the country, as well as our home state of California, where we will be investing over $1 billion this year," wrote Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai in a blog post.
Google parent company Alphabet paused its real estate spending last year in the wake of the pandemic and Google’s first-ever annual revenue decline in the second quarter of 2020.
The data centre expansions come as the company aggressively grows its cloud computing business. Google plans to return workers to offices beginning this fall. Pichai previously said Google wouldn’t adopt a permanent remote work plan, expecting most employees to show up to assigned offices three days a week starting this September.
As a part of the expansions, Pichai said the company will add thousands of new roles at its offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York. Additionally, the company is planning on opening new offices in Seattle, Houston and Mississippi.
Google is planning several massive ground-up developments in various U.S. cities, including near its headquarters in Mountain View, California where it is incorporating housing for employees.
