Google to fund $9.5 bln in U.S. offices, data centers this year

Alphabet Inc's Google announced plans to invest about $9.5 billion across its U.S. offices and data centers this year, up from $7 billion last year. As per the company the investment will create at least 12,000 full-time jobs in 2022 and focus on data centers in several states including Nevada, Nebraska and Virginia. The company will also open a new office in Atlanta this year, and expand its data center in Storey County, Nevada. Google will continue to invest in offices in its home state of California and support affordable housing initiatives in the Bay Area as part of its $1 billion housing commitment.

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet and Google, said in a blog post, “It might seem counterintuitive to step up our investment in physical offices even as we embrace more flexibility in how we work. Yet we believe it's more important than ever to invest in our campuses and that doing so will make for better products, a greater quality of life for our employees, and stronger communities."

As part of the announcement, Google said it expects to create at least 12,000 new full-time jobs at the company this year. The company has called for many of its employees to work in an office three days a week after two years of being fully remote.