Google will spend billions this year on new offices, doubling down on a return to in-person work as other companies consider a future where working from home is the norm.

The tech giant will spend $US7 billion ($9 billion) on new offices and expanding data centres, including adding offices in Texas, North Carolina and Minnesota. In its home state of California, the company will spend $US1 billion, and plans to complete and open a giant new campus in Silicon Valley that’s been under construction for years.

Google was one of the first major US companies to send its workers home in March 2020 as COVID-19 began to spread rapidly across the US. It now plans to bringing employees back to the office in September 2021, but unlike Facebook and Twitter, it hasn’t given workers the option of working remotely permanently.

“Coming together in person to collaborate and build community is core to Google’s culture, and it will be an important part of our future,” Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said in a blog post on Thursday. Last year, Pichai outlined a hybrid approach, where workers could work from home sometimes but come into the office regularly for in-person meetings.

Google has long been a pioneer in office design and culture. The wacky colours, whimsical design and free meals it became famous for in its early years have been replicated by start-ups and big companies alike. In recent years, the company has commissioned sleek, modern buildings by world-famous architects.

Other major companies have begun outlining their post-pandemic work plans. Ford Motor Co. said on Wednesday it would let 30,000 North American employees work from home permanently, while other workers would move to a hybrid model, not unlike Google’s planned system.

Google also said it would hire 10,000 new full-time employees in the US this year. At least 1000 of those workers will be in Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, DC and New York - cities with higher populations of black employees - as Google tries to increase the diversity of its workforce, according to the blog post.

The company has been aggressively expanding its footprint outside of California for several years. Even before the pandemic, the company built offices in Seattle, New York and Boston to tap into high-tech workforces outside of California. The sprawling data centres that host the company’s services and fuel the rise of its fast-growing cloud business now dot the country, from Nevada to Georgia.

Paying taxes and employing workers in many places around the country also has the added benefit of increasing Google’s political influence. That’s especially important as politicians scrutinise the company for its competitive behaviour and how it moderates the content that shows up on its websites.