Google will invest $ 7 billion in bets in the post-pandemic office

The spending commitment follows a slowdown in Google investments about a year ago, when the magnitude of the Covid-19 crisis was beginning to take shape. Last April, Alphabet and Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, told the team in a memo that Google would delay hiring amid the pandemic.

Like other big tech companies, Google flourished last year, benefiting from an accelerated shift in online advertising spending. Despite this growth, its investment in the US planned for 2021 is less than pre-pandemic levels; invested an annual average of $ 11 billion in 2018-2019.

The company said this year’s investment plan targets existing sites, but is also creating three new office sites in Minnesota, Texas and North Carolina, expanding Google’s presence to 19 states. The company said it would add thousands of functions to existing locations in Atlanta, Washington, DC, Chicago and New York, extending a years-long effort to expand its presence beyond Silicon Valley. Alphabet reported more than 135,000 employees worldwide last year.

“Meeting in person to collaborate and build a community is central to Google’s culture,” Pichai said in a blog on Thursday. “And it will be an important part of our future.” Google’s announcement comes about a week before Pichai appears in Congress with Facebook’s chief executives Inc.

and Twitter Inc.

for an audience about misinformation on internet platforms.

Google has more than doubled its number of data centers in the United States since 2018, reflecting the growing volume of digital information generated by individuals and businesses on a daily basis. The company has invested heavily in its cloud business in recent years, as it seeks growth beyond its regular advertising revenue. Last year, it started breaking revenue for its cloud unit, reporting that sales increased 46%, to $ 13.08 billion, compared to 2019. Expenses increased in the same period by 51%, to $ 5 billion.

The expansion of data centers by Google and other technology companies typically provides a jolt of construction-related jobs, but requires minimal staffing after they are completed. The facilities can often be larger than a Walmart supercenter, but they employ less than 100 people to take care of the equipment.

Google’s announcement also comes at a time when big companies are rethinking their office work, after a year in which many employees work from home. Google was one of the first major US corporations to formally extend the time frame for employees to work remotely, deciding last summer that it would keep employees working from home until at least July this year. As Covid-19’s cases stabilize or drop in many places and the rate of vaccination increases, executives are now debating when and how to return to the offices.

The search giant now expects employees to return to offices in the fall and plans to allow employees to work remotely two days a week. The policy differs somewhat from other technology companies, such as Twitter and Facebook, that plan to allow more employees to continue working remotely after the expansion of vaccine distribution.

Other technology companies have accelerated investments outside the bay area. Having encouraged employees to try working remotely in other locations, many chose to make these changes permanent. Austin, Texas, has been a particularly sought-after location for technology jobs.

Write to Parmy Olson at [email protected] and Tripp Mickle at [email protected]