WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) The cloud services division said Friday it plans to invest another $35 billion through 2040 to expand data centers in Virginia.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) said the new investment will create 1,000 jobs. Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin said AWS will build multiple data center campuses in Virginia.
in 2021 AWS said from 2011 to 2020 It had invested $35 billion in data centers located in Northern Virginia and had 3,500 full-time employees in data centers in the state.
Pending approval by state lawmakers, Virginia is developing a new “Mega Data Center Incentive Program” that would allow companies to extend Data Center Sales and Use tax exemptions on hardware and software for up to 15 years.
AWS will also be eligible for up to $140 million in government grants “for site and infrastructure improvements, workforce development and other project-related costs.”
Amazon shares rose 3.8% on Friday.
Amazon announced in 2018 that after a long competition, Northern Virginia would be home to its second headquarters, known as “HQ2,” and would eventually hire more than 25,000 workers. As of April, Amazon said the number of workers assigned to the site was around 5,000.
Youngkin faced some criticism for pulling out of the competition to attract the new Ford Motor Company (FN) the battery plant is expected to be built together with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL). (300750.SZ)the world’s largest battery manufacturer.
Youngkin defended his decision on Friday, telling Bloomberg News that he was “looking forward to bringing a big company in there. It’s not going to be a company that uses some kind of Trojan horse relationship with the Chinese Communist Party to win.”
A spokesman for Youngkin said, “Although Ford is a well-known American company, it has become clear that this proposal will act as a front for the Chinese Communist Party.”
Ford declined to comment on Youngkin’s decision to withdraw.
In July, Ford said it plans to locate 40 GWh of battery capacity in North America starting in 2026. He also announced that CATL will provide battery packs for Mustang Mach-E models for North America starting in 2023 and will discuss collaboration for batteries in Ford vehicles. around the world.
“Our negotiations with CATL are ongoing – and there is nothing new to announce on either front,” Ford said.
Michigan is also a candidate for a Ford battery plant and a decision could be made in the coming weeks, sources said.
Reporting by David Shepardson and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Edited by Aurora Ellis and Himani Sarkar
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