Google to spend $9.5B this year on data centers and offices
Construction is underway at Google's new Kirkland Urban campus in Washington.
Google said on Wednesday that it plans to spend around $9.5 billion this year on US offices and data centers. The new investments span every region of the country.
"It might seem counterintuitive to step up our investment in physical offices even as we embrace more flexibility in how we work," Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post. "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."
Over the past five years, Google has spent more than $37 billion building up physical infrastructure in 26 states.
Like most large companies, Google shut down its offices in early 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold across the US. Last year, the company announced it would adopt a "hybrid workforce model" that asked employees to spend at least some time in the office. Google said that it expects around 20% of its employees to work from home permanently.
Now that Google employees are returning to the office, the company is reportedly offering perks like free scooters to help ease the transition.