Meta to Build $10B AI Data Center in Northeast Louisiana
A transformational investment that cements the state’s status as a major innovation hub and puts this picturesque rural community on the leading edge of a global digital revolution. Meta projects the data center will support 500 or more direct new jobs in Richland Parish. Louisiana Economic Development (LED) estimates the project will result in the creation of more than 1,000 indirect jobs, for a total of more than 1,500 potential new jobs in the Northeast Region. The company estimates 5,000 construction workers at peak of construction on the 2,250-acre former Franklin Farm megasite that sits between the municipalities of Rayville and Delhi, about 30 miles east of Monroe. Meta to Build $10B AI Data Center in Northeast Louisiana – electrifiED


At companies big and small, employees have feared being replaced by AI. The new threat: Being replaced by someone who knows AI. Rank-and-file employees across corporate America have grown worried over the past few years about being replaced by AI. Something else is happening now: AI is costing workers their jobs if their bosses believe they aren’t embracing the technology fast enough. From professional-services firms to technology companies, employers are pushing their staffs to learn generative AI and integrate programs like ChatGPT, Gemini or customized company-specific tools into their work. They’re sometimes using sticks rather than carrots. Anyone deemed untrainable or seen as dragging their feet risks being weeded out of hiring processes, marked down in performance reviews or laid off. Companies are putting their workers on notice about their AI skills amid a wave of white-collar job cuts. Some companies are training people in how to use the tools—but leaving it up to them to figure out what to use them for. There are countless possibilities for how to deploy AI. Some businesses have required training classes or set up help desks to coach employees on how to incorporate AI into their work. Others are putting the onus on staff to think creatively about how to make money or save time with the tech. That can prompt exciting innovations—or it may come at the expense of getting work done. Or both.