Microsoft says it’s again considering building a data centre in West Des Moines, but the project would be significantly smaller than initially proposed, state documents show. Instead of constructing a nearly US$600 million data centre in West Des Moines, the Redmond, Wash., software giant is weighing building a US$100 million data farm. Microsoft also would cut from 50 to 25 the number of workers it would hire.

Microsoft’s plans to build a data centre in West Des Moines have been on hold since January 2009, when the recession pushed the company to cut as many as 5,000 jobs nationally and US$1.5 billion in spending. West Des Moines city manager Jeff Pomeranz said the city is talking with Microsoft about the project, but knows other sites are being considered. “We’re not it yet. It’s still a competitive situation,” he said.

Source: Des Moine Register

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