WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Portal) – The cloud services arm of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O) announced on Friday that it plans to invest an additional $35 billion in data center expansions in Virginia by 2040 to invest.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) said the new investment will create 1,000 jobs. Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said AWS will build multiple data center campuses across Virginia.
In 2021, AWS said it had invested $35 billion in data centers in northern Virginia from 2011 to 2020 and had 3,500 full-time employees at its data centers in the state.
Subject to approval by state legislatures, Virginia is developing a new “Mega Data Center Incentive Program” that would allow the company to extend data center sales and use tax exemptions for equipment and software by up to 15 years.
AWS is also eligible for a federal grant of up to $140 million “for site and infrastructure improvements, staff development, and other project-related costs.”
Amazon shares closed down 3.8% on Friday.
Amazon announced in 2018 after a long competition that Northern Virginia would be home to its second headquarters called “HQ2” and would eventually employ more than 25,000 people. In April, Amazon said the site employs around 5,000 people.
Youngkin was criticized for withdrawing from a competition to win a new Ford Motor (FN) battery plant that is expected to be built with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) (300750.SZ), the world’s largest battery maker shall be.
Youngkin defended his decision on Friday, telling Bloomberg News he was excited to “bring a great company there.
A spokesman for Youngkin said, “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 announced that it plans to locate 40 GWh of battery capacity in North America beginning in 2026. It also announced that CATL will supply battery packs for Mustang Mach-E models for North America beginning in 2023 and will discuss a collaboration for batteries in Ford vehicles around the world.
“Our discussions with CATL are ongoing — and we have nothing new to announce on either front,” Ford said.
Michigan is also a candidate for Ford’s battery plant, 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 Trust Principles.