WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc’s (AMZN.O) The cloud services division said Friday that it plans to invest another $35 billion by 2040 to expand data centers in Virginia.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) said the new investment will create 1,000 jobs. Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said AWS will establish 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 its data centers in the state.
Pending approval by state legislators, Virginia is developing a new “Mega Data Center Incentive Program,” which would allow the company to receive up to a 15-year extension of data center sales and use tax breaks. data in equipment and software.
AWS will also be eligible to receive a state grant of up to $140 million “for site and infrastructure improvements, workforce development, and other project-related costs.”
Amazon shares closed up 3.8% on Friday.
Amazon in 2018, after a lengthy contest, announced that Northern Virginia would house its second headquarters known as “HQ2” and would eventually employ more than 25,000 employees. As of April, Amazon said its assigned workforce to the site was around 5,000.
Youngkin has faced some criticism for pulling out of a competition to attract a new Ford Motor (FN) The battery plant is expected to be built with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) (300750.SZ)the world’s largest battery producer.
Youngkin defended his decision on Friday, telling Bloomberg News that he hopes to “take a great company there. It’s not going to be one that uses some kind of Trojan horse relationship with the Chinese Communist Party to win.”
A Youngkin representative has said that “while Ford is an iconic American company, it became clear that this proposal would serve as a front for the Chinese Communist Party.”
Ford declined to comment on Youngkin’s decision to retire.
In July, Ford said it plans to locate 40 GWh of battery capacity in North America starting in 2026. It also announced that CATL would provide battery packs for Mustang Mach-E models for North America starting in 2023 and would discuss cooperation. for batteries in Ford vehicles. worldwide.
“Our discussions with CATL continue, and we have nothing new to announce on either front,” Ford said.
Michigan is also a candidate for Ford’s battery plant, the sources said, and a decision could be made in the coming weeks.
Reporting by David Shepardson and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Edited by Aurora Ellis and Himani Sarkar
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
