Given the boon data centers provide blue-collar American workers, this is an odd and dangerous move. According to one analysis, “A standard 500-megawatt data center requires roughly 30,000 truckloads of concrete, structural steel, and copper.” In his own words, new data center builds provided his community—himself included—work that "brought dignity to so many people, and the dignity of hard work, of honest work." What’s more, energy and data center infrastructure construction is a “gold rush” for jobs, especially in the trades. Operators like Meta have developed their own job training programs for data center technicians.