On Aug. 8, Google announced plans to invest an additional $1.7 billion in construction at its three datacenter campuses in central Ohio. Google has now committed to spending $3.7 billion in the area that is becoming known as the “Silicon Heartland.”
Back in May, Google announced that along with its New Albany datacenter, it will be building additional datacenters in Columbus and Lancaster to increase its artificial intelligence technology.
Dorsey Hager, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary, said it is too early to determine how many construction jobs the Google expansion work will create.
Hager is excited about the job opportunities the additional datacenters will offer the Columbus Building Trades, especially the students in the Building Futures Program.
Google Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy Mark Isakowitz said the $1.7 billion will be used to complete the Columbus and Lancaster datacenters and expand the New Albany facility.
Isakowtiz said the Columbus datacenter is now operational and the Lancaster site will be open by the end of the year, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
“Our continued investment in Ohio is a testament to not only the business environment but the strong community we’re building. Ohio is home,” he added.
According to Columbus Business First, Google opened a cloud region in Columbus last year to meet the growing demand from businesses and public sector organizations in the Midwest and across North America.
Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted spoke at Google’s announcement and said no tax credits or other public incentives were offered to Google for the datacenter expansion.
These investments will continue to create good jobs for union construction workers, including affiliated members of the C/COBCTC.
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