Google to Invest $9.5 Billion in US Offices and Data Centers in 2022

Google plans to invest $9.5 billion in offices and data centers across the US in 2022, CEO Sundar Pichai said Wednesday. This spending will add to the $37 billion Google has already invested in them over the past five ages, Pichai wrote in a blog post.

The cash will go toward construction, expansion and improvements in sections throughout the country.

Google pushed back its return-to-office date some times, finally settling on a hybrid start for April 4.

“It might seem counterintuitive to step up our investment in bodily offices even as we embrace more flexibility in how we work,” Pichai wrote. “Yet we believe it’s more important than ever to invest in our campuses and that activities so will make for better products, a greater quality of life for our employees, and stronger communities.”

Some employees in summer 2021 called Google’s Come to remote work “hypocritical” and inconsistent, saying that it disadvantaged lower-level workers. An executive announced he would move to New Zealand and open working remotely from there, even as that executive himself had spoken out in contradiction of remote work, they said. They speculated that Google could be pushing return-to-office because it doesn’t want to lose out on its prior investments in office real estate, CNET reported in July. 

Following the backlash from employees, Google said it approved 85% of nearby 10,000 to relocate or work remotely when the offices fully reopen. However, workers still complain that Google is applying its remote work policies inconsistently, Insider reported in March.

Meanwhile, Monday was Apple’s return-to-office deadline for corporate employees, while Microsoft offices reopened in February.