Technology companies now make up around 20% of the state's overall economic impact.<\/p>\n
SEATTLE As Congress investigates whether big tech companies are too big, Seattle continues to see fast growth as these companies expand.<\/p>\n
Currently, tech companies make up 20.2% of Washington state's overall economy, according to a recent study by CompTIA.<\/p>\n
In Seattle, the overall footprint among companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook is expanding. Amazon's global headquarters is now more than 40 owned and leased buildings in Seattle.<\/p>\n
When it comes to jobs, the impact is growing too.<\/p>\n
Amazon currently employs around 50,000 people in the region. Apple, which is moving into two 12-story buildings on Dexter Avenue in Seattle, is planning to move in around 2,000 employees.<\/p>\n
Google is putting the finishing touches on its new five-building campus along Mercer Street and is expected to provide around 4,500 jobs.<\/p>\n
Facebook, which is also now growingwith five buildings in Seattle, has around 5,000 employees in the city.<\/p>\n
But many feel that big tech growth can also do more harm than good.<\/p>\n
\"These four companies represent a private government that can overtake many countries in a way,\" said Hanson Hosein, co-director of the Communication Leadership master's program at the University of Washington. Hosein has been closely studying tech growth in Seattle for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
\"We're talking billions of people and trillions of dollars,\" he said. \"That power is disproportionate, and the concern is very anti-democratic because they're not that accountable to us.\"<\/p>\n
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Big tech companies continue to expand in Seattle - KING5.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Technology companies now make up around 20% of the state's overall economic impact. Continue reading