Amazon announced a multibillion-dollar agreement with Corning Inc. on June 8 that is expected to create 1,000 new jobs at Corning’s manufacturing facilities across North Carolina, along with additional construction jobs tied to facility expansions.
Corning is a leading manufacturer of advanced glass and fiber optic technology. Amazon said the partnership will support the expansion of its data center infrastructure across the United States.
As part of the agreement, Amazon will also work with Corning to expand a training program at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory. The program is designed to prepare students for jobs in fiber optic manufacturing and related technical fields.
The announcement follows Amazon’s 2025 commitment to invest $10 billion in North Carolina to expand its cloud computing infrastructure. Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman said the company has created more than 26,000 jobs statewide since 2010.
“These long-term investments create long-term careers and real opportunity in the communities where we operate,” Garman said.
Data centers have become a major issue in North Carolina politics, as some residents have raised concerns about their environmental and economic impacts.
The Corning agreement comes after a separate partnership between Corning and Meta, Facebook’s parent company, and as officials in Charlotte and other parts of the state consider temporary moratoriums on new data center developments.
| Federal funding is gone. Community support matters more than ever. | |
|
One Community. 500 Sustainers.
One Stronger Future. WFAE is now 100% locally funded. Your monthly gift helps provide the reliable funding needed for future reporting, accountability journalism, election coverage, and the local stories this region depends on.
|
