December 16, 2022
A spokesperson for Meta Platforms said the company is continuing to cut costs and has halted construction of two data centers in Odense, Denmark, worth $342 million, and will instead focus on a new type of data center used for artificial intelligence (AI).
“We have decided not to move forward with the planned expansion beyond three buildings,” said Meta spokesman Peter Münster in a statement.
The canceled project would have constructed two additional buildings for server housing and was set to open by the end of 2025. Construction on the expansion had already begun, with foundations, sewers, cables, a canteen, and parking for 1,000 cars already in place. Construction on the two stalled data centers in Odense began this August.
Münster also stated that the move is part of a series of recent announcements to create a “more streamlined organization,” and that the company is re-examining development plans to ensure that it is building a “new generation” of data centers designed to handle AI workloads.
Per Aarsleff, the contractor in charge of building the data centers, has also issued a statement saying; “Aarsleff has received a termination of the contract entered into on 3 August 2022 with a multinational company for the Civil Works Package in connection with an extension of a data centre in Odense.”
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.
