MISSISSIPPI — Google announced Thursday that the company would bring a Google Operations Center to northwest Mississippi in 2020, thus bringing more than 350 jobs to the area.
Google has not specified where in northwest Mississippi the operations center would go, but the company did guarantee more than 350 local jobs.
Congressman Bennie Thompson’s office confirmed that the plan is for the center to go somewhere in his district, which takes in much of the Delta area in western Mississippi with Tunica and Panola counties on its north end.
Glen McCullough with the Mississippi Development Authority believes the center may be located in DeSoto County.
“They said north Mississippi, and we believe it could be DeSoto County. but when google is ready they’ll announce a specific location,” McCullough said.
The announcement comes after Google committed to a $13 billion investment to their United States offices and data centers. The Mississippi center will be another attempt for the company to expand its American workforce.
The Mississippi operations center will be Google’s first U.S.-based operations center.
“We are excited to continue growing our workforce across the southeast and are confident that Mississippi will be a great home for Google,” said Troy Dickerson, vice president of the Google Operations Center. “This operations center will give us the opportunity to hire amazing local talent as we expand in the region.”
“Google’s decision to locate more than 350 jobs and their first U.S. Operations Center in Mississippi is a testament to our state’s great workers and pro-growth policies,” Sen. Roger Wicker said. “I am glad to welcome one of the most innovative companies in the world to northwestern Mississippi.”
Employees at the Mississippi operations center will provide customer service to Google users. They will perform tasks like answering calls, product troubleshooting and ad campaign setup.
Google officials say employees will all receives benefits, including healthcare, company-paid life and disability insurance, 3-weeks paid vacation, and up to 22 weeks of paid parental leave.
“North Mississippi is a great place to live, work, and play. Google will receive a warm welcome and find an excellent home here,” said Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. “Mississippi continues to attract companies across a variety of business sectors, and it’s exciting to have Google contributing to the growing tech economy in our state.”
The center is set to open some time in late 2020.
