Google is going ahead with delayed plans to expand its London offices, saying it will build a 10-story building on the site in a move that the U.K. government called a vote of confidence in the country's post-Brexit future.
The company, the largest unit of Alphabet Inc., said it would be able to house as many as 7,000 workers at the London campus after the expansion -- 3,000 more than a spokesman said it currently employs in the U.K. Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai described the plan as a sign of the company's commitment to the country.
"Here in the U.K., it's clear to me that computer science has a great future with the talent, educational institutions, and passion for innovation we see all around us," he said in a statement.
Speaking at an event that included London's mayor Sadiq Khan and prominent entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, Pichai was optimistic about the U.K.'s future in technology despite the June vote to leave the European Union, and he said Google was committed to remaining in the country for years.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-15/google-affirms-plan-to-expand-london-campus-with-new-building
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/google-to-create-new-london-headquarters-and-3000-jobs-at-kings-cross-a3396496.htmlr
(Score: 4, Interesting) by frojack on Friday November 18 2016, @12:12AM
Or maybe Google has figured out the GB might be a whole lot more business friendly being OUT of the EU than in it.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @08:12AM
IF we are going to be projecting our opinions of brexit on this story, allow me to add:
Google realized that real-estate, construction and salary costs were about to get much cheaper because the UK screwed themselves so it was still worth it even if the project produced less gross revenue.