Verdant Says UK Datacentres Will Create 10,400 Jobs, 75% Below TechUK Forecasts
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 9
Verdant Says UK Datacentres Will Create 10,400 Jobs, 75% Below TechUK Forecasts
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 9
Summary
10,400 direct jobs are likely from all currently planned UK datacentres, Verdant said, versus more than 40,000 projected by industry group TechUK and echoed by the Labour government.
20 projects with public staffing data underpin the estimate, with Verdant counting permanent operating roles rather than temporary construction work and arguing larger future sites will be even less job-intensive.
8.6 jobs per megawatt have been created by datacentres already built, Verdant said, compared with 43.7 in TechUK's projections and far higher ratios in car plants and hospitals.
Labour rejected the thinktank's jobs-per-megawatt metric as misleading, saying it ignores wider economic value, national security and digital sovereignty as ministers speed planning for AI datacentres.
The dispute lands amid rising opposition over water and energy use, with the Greens seeking a moratorium and protests in Scotland against projects critics say are being rushed through.