Google announced Thursday that it would invest more than $7 billion in the US in 2021 to create thousands of new jobs to help the country recover from the economic devastation brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
"I believe a lasting economic recovery will come from local communities and the people and small businesses that give them life," CEO Sundar Pichai and Google's parent company Alphabet said in a statement.
"Google wants to be a part of that recovery," said Pichai. "That's why we plan to invest over $7 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs in the U.S. this year."
He added the company is investing in several communities that are new to the company, as well as expanding in others across 19 states.
The company noted that it hired a record number of Black and Latino employees last year.
Meanwhile, the Asian American Business Development Center, along with US Black Chambers and the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, sent an open letter to America's CEOs, demanding action against "the wave of rising hate crimes, discrimination and harassment of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders."
"At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, we saw a backlash and targeting of the Asian American community who were unfairly blamed for the virus," John Wang, the president of the Asian American Business Development Center, said Wednesday.
"Tragically, this climate of hate has continued in 2021, with vulnerable elderly targeted in California and New York City recently, and indications that the community continues to be stigmatized by racist acts and words," Wang added.
