Google Establishes new site worth one billion dollars

    Google has reportedly began a construction on a new $1bn (£789m) data centre in the UK. 

The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been meeting company bosses as part of a bid to “champion British excellence in tech”.

The new facility is to be located on a 33-acre site at Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, purchased by Google in October 2020.

The Alphabet-owned company said the centre would boost the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and “help ensure reliable digital services to Google Cloud customers and Google users in the UK”.

It also revealed that heat generated from the facility would be saved to benefit homes and other businesses in the local community.Google employs 7,000 people in the UK and said the data centre would add to that figure, initially due to the construction process.

Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer, said: “The Waltham Cross data centre represents our latest investment in the UK and the wider digital economy at large.”Together with the UK government, we are working to make AI more helpful and accessible for people and organisations across the country.”

Mr Hunt said of the investment: “From business conducted online to advancements in healthcare, every growing economy relies on data centres.

“Our country is no different and this major $1bn investment from Google is a huge vote of confidence in Britain as the largest tech economy in Europe, bringing with it good jobs and the infrastructure we need to support the industries of the future.”

The announcement was made just a day after Google boss Sundar Pichai told employees in an internal memo to expect more job cuts during 2024.

A year ago, plans for 12,000 global job losses were revealed, amounting to 6% of its workforce.

According to The Verge, which first reported on the communication, the company’s 182,000 staff were told the lay-offs would not be as severe.

The new data centre builds on other recent tech wins for the UK.