Alphabet (GOOGL) Investing $9.5 Billion in U.S. in 2022
The Google unit of Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL, GOOG) is investing $9.5 billion in the U.S. in 2022 and is adding 12,000 new full-time jobs. The investments and hiring will be in both offices and data centers across the country.1
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, stated: "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."
"Google is investing $9.5 billion in the U.S. in 2022 and plans to add 12,000 more full-time U.S. jobs.
The investments are in nine offices and ten data centers across the U.S., both new and existing.
Investments also include an ongoing $1 billion affordable housing initiative in the Bay Area.
Google touts various studies showing it to be a key catalyst for local economies, perhaps in an attempt to dampen growing criticism of big tech firms."
Nationwide Investments
Google indicates that, over the past five years, the company has invested more than $37 billion in offices and data centers in 26 states and created over 40,000 full-time jobs. In addition to that figure, Google reports having spent more than $40 billion on research and development (R&D) in the U.S. in 2020 and 2021.
Specific projects included in the $9.5 billion figure are:
Opening a new office in Atlanta, Georgia.
Making progress on a new office in Austin, Texas.
Investing in existing data centers in Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon, and Nevada, while also opening a new data center in Nevada.
Continued investments in office space in New York, Pittsburgh, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Continued buildout of a campus in Boulder, Colorado.
Investing in campuses in Seattle and Kirkland, Washington.
Opening a new office in Portland, Oregon.
Supporting affordable housing initiatives in the Bay Area of California as part of a $1 billion commitment made in 2019 to create at least 20,000 new homes.
There clearly is a political angle to Google's press release, positioning the company as a good corporate citizen and vital driver of local economies, in response to growing criticism of big tech firms.
Our Contribution to Communities
Google's press release states: "Our contribution to communities starts with the jobs we create, both directly and indirectly". It cites a study finding that creating one job at a high tech firm will lead to more than four more jobs in the local economy.1
Google also released its 2021 Economic Impact Report, in which it claims to have provided $617 billion in economic activity for millions of American businesses, nonprofits, creators, developers, and publishers in 2021. Additionally, Google claims that the Android app economy helped to create nearly 2 million jobs in 2021 and that YouTube's creative ecosystem supported 394,000 jobs in 2020.1
Moreover, Google touts its $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund, which it says is "a new financial model for helping people access education and digital skills." Finally, in the realm of green investing, Google states that it is working toward running its offices and data centers on carbon-free energy 24/7 by 2030 and that it is aiming to set new standards for green building design.
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Source: Investopedia