News of Google’s planned HQ in London – which will create 3,000 new jobs by 2020 – comes as a major boost to Britain’s technology sector.
In his first European broadcast interview since his appointment last year, Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, told the BBC that the UK was still an attractive place to do business, despite Brexit. He named open borders and free movement for “skilled” workers as integral to the success of the UK tech sector.
Sources at Google added that if issues arose around skilled immigration following Brexit, some of the technology’s company’s investment could be at risk, throwing into question whether it would be able to afford the new building.
Google currently employs around 4,000 people in the UK, but that figure could soon rise to 7,000 as the office space they own in Kings Cross will more than double to 65,000 sq-ft.
Mr Pichai made it clear that the strength of the UK economy went beyond the vote to leave the European Union. “We see big opportunities here” the CEO said. “This is a big commitment from us – we have some of the best talent in the world in the UK and to be able to build great products from here sets us up well for the long term.”
“The innovation we see here, the talent we have available here and how on the cutting edge of technology we are able to be here makes it an incredible place for us to invest,” he said.
“We do value how open and connected it is and we can bring in talent from anywhere in the world and we value those attributes and we are optimistic that those will stay true over time.
“So we did [make the investment decision] taking into consideration [the referendum], but we are very optimistic.”
“When I look at London [I see] a place in which we are able to attract great talent, find great talent in the UK, thanks to a great educational system here, but it has also been a place where people are willing to come from anywhere in the world.
“Increasingly, for the kinds of complex things we do, we need to bring people who are across many disciplines – with many different backgrounds – together to solve problems. That’s how you can build newer things, so that is particularly important for us.”
Original source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37988095