Amazon to invest $7.8 billion to expand data center ops in Ohio
Amazon’s cloud-computing business is making the second-largest single private sector company investment in Ohio's history.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) will invest $7.8 billion (by 2030) to expand its data center operations in the Buckeye State. The investment will go toward new data centers with "computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment and other forms of technology infrastructure used to power cloud computing," according to a press release from the office of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
This is Amazon’s third big investment in its cloud-computing business so far this year. In January, the company announced plans to invest $35 billion by 2040 to expand data centers in Virginia. In May, it said it would commit $12.7 billion to expand its cloud infrastructure in India by 2030.
The investment in Ohio will bring “hundreds of direct jobs and support thousands of additional jobs at local businesses through the construction, operations, and maintenance on-site at AWS facilities,” Roger Wehner, director of economic development, AWS, wrote in a post on the company’s web site. “This additional investment reinforces our long-term partnership with Ohio and its citizens.”
AWS launched its first data centers in the region in 2016 and currently operates data center campuses in Franklin and Licking counties. Since 2015, AWS has invested $6.3 billion in Ohio, supporting an average of more than 3,500 full-time equivalent jobs annually. Through the construction, operation, and maintenance of its data centers, AWS’s investment added $2.2 billion to the local gross domestic product in Ohio from 2015 through 2022.
“AWS’s investments have supported jobs in sectors like telecommunications, software development, facilities maintenance, and electricity generation within the AWS supply chain,” Wehner wrote. “The ripple effect of these investments goes further than supporting jobs and bringing financial benefits to the people of Ohio. AWS collaborates with local schools and organizations that share our commitment to science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education, equity, and access.”