Facebook will invest $800 million to build a new state-of-the-art data center in Gallatin to create approximately 100 jobs, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced Wednesday.
Gallatin officials told The Tennessee Star that Facebook will hire locally.
“Facebook will most likely bring in a campus director, but they will post the jobs for anyone in the area who would like to apply for them. One of the things was we started several years ago working with a community college,” said Gallatin Economic Development (ECD) Agency Executive Director James Fenton.
“There are already cyber classes, cyber security classes, programming classes, all that kind of stuff at the community college as well as putting together a partnership between the community college and the Nashville Technology Council for their printing program. Anyone between now and the time the first building first opens in two years could learn the kinds of skillsets that will be necessary. We worked hard on that to make sure folks in the area will have a shot at those jobs.”
ECD officials, in a press release, said more than 1,100 construction workers will work on 982,000 square-foot facility.
The center, located about 30 miles from Nashville, will house various types of workers, including technical operations, electricians, logistics staff, and security.
Gallatin Mayor Paige Brown told The Star in an email Wednesday that the facility is “a huge server farm” that will store and process Facebook’s data and other platforms.
Facebook spokeswoman Melanie Roe said the company started conversing with Gallatin officials in 2017.
“We will be posting jobs on the Facebook Careers page within the next few weeks,” Roe said in an email.
“People can also follow the Gallatin Data Center Facebook page for more information.”
Roe also said company officials chose Gallatin because it has “access to renewable energy, a great talent pool for both operations and construction and wonderful community partners.”
Fenton said the data center will need its own infrastructure, but he also said Facebook officials will pay for it.
“Facebook has already shipped the city of Gallatin $9.6 million to help us improve our water and sewer system to beef it up for them, and they are also going to ship us close to $6 million to build a road,” Fenton said.
“There is some infrastructure needed, but they are paying for everything. None of that is coming out of the taxpayer dollar.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected]. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo “Facebook Workplace” by Facebook.
Facebook, actually fascist book, is in the business of censoring information and opinion, often at the behest of leftists politicians and corporate media. This they do claiming that their arbitrary, ambiguous and secret “community standards” are violated while enjoying special Government legal immunity to violate free speech. This is a radical departure from true classical liberalism articulated in the following quote:
“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”–John F. Kennedy
I agree, we’re building a house just outside of Gallatin and fing this news to be sickening. They will eventually change the culture of the area, and most likely be less like TN and more like California. We’re super disappointed.
“Facebook will most likely bring in a campus director, but they will post the jobs for anyone in the area who would like to apply for them…” What a crock! “Post” is the operative word! Sure, the fact is that “anyone in the area” can APPLY, but will they get the jobs? Probably not!
This is political BS just to justify the the State and local ECD dollars that are being given to one of the largest companies on the planet! Few if any of these ECD hand-outs EVER provide the number of jobs, or the pay rates that are claimed. Just pick up any Tennessee Comptroller report on the topic. More of the same Randy Boyd/Bill Hagerty slick talk that never materializes into tangible benefits for the people who already live here!
I agree, this will change the culture of the area and not in a good way.
Sumner County has nothing to brag about Facebook locating there. That’s like bragging about a hemorrhoid. You notice the first thing they do is give money to improve the water and sewer system because Facebook is full of it. I am surprised Chicken Coop Cooper didn’t promise Facebook money Nashville does not have to get Facebook to come to the _ _it city and his new puppet police chief could bring them ice cream and food. Nashville may open for business in 2022, thanks Chicken Coop you moron.