Internet giant Google announced on Thursday (March 18) it plans to invest $500 million and expand operations in South Carolina. The effort is part of the company's larger $7 billion plan to bring thousands of jobs to cities across the country and stimulate the economy, especially after a year like 2020.
"I believe a lasting economic recovery will come from local communities, and the people and small businesses that give them life," said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and corporate parent Alphabet. "That's why we plan to invest over $7 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs in the U.S. this year."
Google has been in South Carolina since 2007, operating more than 800 jobs and awarding more than $2 million in grants during its time in the Palmetto State, according to News 19. Grants have been given to several organizations, including the local Google.org Impact Challenge Columbia and the Berkeley County School District.
Also on Thursday, Google announced its plan to open a new engineering hub focused on cloud computing in Durham, North Carolina, and creating up to 1,000 jobs. According to ABC 11, the new center in Durham will join Google's four other top engineering hubs in the country: New York, Seattle, California's Bay Area, and Kirkland, Washington.
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