Amazon and GE may be giving up on New York City and Boston respectively, but Google is taking a different approach, expanding in both cities.
According to reports, Google — which already announced plans to expand its Hudson Square space late last year — is investing billions of dollars into real estate in New York. What’s more, the internet giant is aiming to double the workforce at the company during the next ten years. Its headcount currently stands at around 7,000 jobs.
“Our investment in New York is a huge part of our commitment to grow and invest in U.S. facilities, offices and jobs. In fact, we’re growing faster outside the Bay Area than within it, and this year opened new offices and data centers in locations like Detroit, Boulder, Los Angeles, Tennessee, and Alabama,” wrote Google CFO Ruth Porat, according to reports.
The report noted that at the same time that GE was announcing it was pulling out of Boston, Google unveiled a big expansion with Cambridge, the city that is home to Harvard and MIT. Other tech companies with presences in Boston include Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, Akamai and a slew of startups.
Google is gearing up to move into a new building that is now the MIT Coop bookstore. It will be a 365,000 square foot building once it’s completed. And just like in New York City, it plans to bring on hundreds of new jobs in addition to the 1,500 it already employs in Cambridge. “This new space will provide room for future growth and further cements our commitment to the Cambridge community. We’re proud to call this city home and will continue to support its vibrant nonprofit and growing business community,” Brian Cusack, Google Cambridge site lead, said in a statement to reporters.
