Google announced a $7 billion investment in the US that will create at least 10,000 new jobs this year, a drop from the $10bn it promised it would invest in 2020 before the pandemic swept the country.
The Alphabet's unit is investing in offices and data centers, including more than $1bn in its home state of California, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said in a statement on Thursday. Part of the investment will be used for data center expansions in Nebraska, South Carolina, Virginia, Nevada and Texas, Mr Pichai said.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that Google plans to invest $250 million in its campus at Hudson Square. He also said the company, which employs 14,000 people in the city, will add 3,000 more workers. “The technology industry is doubling down on New York City,” Mr de Blasio said. “They know how much talent is here.”
In early 2020, Google said it would invest over $10bn into offices and data centers in a range of states, including California, New York and Texas. This was also a decline from the $13bn it pledged in 2019 to invest in order to expand in rural areas such as Nevada, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
However, in April last year Mr Pichai said Google would slow hiring for the remainder of 2020, “recalibrating the focus and pace of our investments in areas like data centers and machines.” Google had 135,300 staff at the end of 2020, and has said it will let employees work from home until July 2021.
Alphabet broke out figures for its Google Cloud business for the first time in February. The unit had an operating loss of $1.2bn in the fourth quarter, far behind its rival Amazon Web Services, the largest cloud provider, which generated fourth-quarter operating income of $3.56bn. For 2020, the cloud division lost $5.6bn, Alphabet said.
“An important element of our operating loss is that we have been building out our organization ahead of revenue, and that includes our product portfolio, the network of data centers,” Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Alphabet and Google, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. This will help the company pursue this large market opportunity, she added.
In 2020, Google’s services drove $426bn of economic activity for more than 2 million American businesses, nonprofits and other entities, the company said, citing its 2020 US Economic Impact Report.
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Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Scores
Wales 74-24 Tonga
England 35-15 Japan
Italy 7-26 Australia
The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):
British group
Coldplay
Foals
Bring me the Horizon
D-Block Europe
Bastille
British Female
Mabel
Freya Ridings
FKA Twigs
Charli xcx
Mahalia
British male
Harry Styles
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Michael Kiwanuka
Stormzy
Best new artist
Aitch
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Mabel
Sam Fender
Best song
Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care
Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up
Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant
Dave - Location
Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove
Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved
Tom Walker - Just You and I
Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger
Stormzy - Vossi Bop
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Billie Eilish
Camila Cabello
Lana Del Rey
Lizzo
International male
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Burna Boy
Tyler, The Creator
Dermot Kennedy
Post Malone
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Stormzy - Heavy is the Head
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
Dave - Psychodrama
Harry Styles - Fine Line
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Celeste
Joy Crookes
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45 pairs of running shoes
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The five pillars of Islam
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Lexus LX700h specs
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Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press
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WOMAN AND CHILD
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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday, February 8 v Kenya; Friday, February 9 v Canada; Sunday, February 11 v Nepal; Monday, February 12 v Oman; Wednesday, February 14 v Namibia; Thursday, February 15 final
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
