Should Have Seen The Signs, Google
The companies Google should have heeded before fumbling Berlin startup campus.
BERLIN — What seemed like a dark joke at Google’s expense turned out to be a real offer from Berlin city officials — a Google startup campus in the former Stasi Headquarters. For some, the surveillance tactics employed by East Germany’s secret service police are eerily reminiscent of Google’s personal data collection tools. For others, a Google office in Berlin’s east district of Lichtenberg would simply mean a better image and greater investment in the area.
Since Google’s first announcement of a future Berlin startup campus in November 2016, the company and city locals have been at odds, which is surprising because according to city councilor Birgit Monteiro, there is a general interest in Google opening a Berlin office. Google first proposed a 32,000 square foot campus in Berlin’s hipster central district Kreuzberg, which was met with fierce opposition. Google established six similar startup campuses in São Paulo, Madrid, London, Seoul, Tel Aviv, and Warsaw, which were all introduced without local resistance.
What did Google do wrong?
When selecting a location in Berlin, Google did not take into consideration Germany’s long-standing relationship with large corporations. The New York Times published an article entitled “Why Germans are Afraid of Google” in 2014. That’s right, 2014. The article argues Germany is not mistrusting of technology and American corporations as some of the “German angst” stereotypes suggest. Instead, Berliners’ mistrust in technology corporations is due to their greater faith in the state. The article cheekily concludes “In Germany, cowboys should remain in the movies,” in reference to the cowboy attitude large corporations take on toward rules and regulations.
Although following the rules does not seem very Berlin-like, the government seems to have struck a perfect balance between enforcing rules while also protecting its citizens’ freedom. The annual May Day Myfest exemplifies the relationship locals share with the state. A public holiday which more than once led to protesters fighting with law enforcement is now a day where locals publicly protest, dance, drink and take pictures for social media with police in full combat gear.
The relationship government and the electorate share mean tech companies need to rethink how they should approach Berlin and situate themselves in this historical workers’ city.
Local opposition was largely attributed to fear of further gentrification and harming Berliners’ beloved, edgy Kreuzberg district culture. A recent report stated Berlin rent has increased 70% from 2004 to 2016 with the Kreuzberg district seeing some of the most dramatic increases.
For some, Google represents the greater economic change that would continue to push out local business owners and residents. However, many local entrepreneurs feel opposing foreign business slows progress. Since Brexit, Berlin has been projected to take over as the next European tech capital, also known as Europe’s ‘Silicon Allee’. Local companies and startups who support this vision had welcomed a new potential Google campus. Julian Jost, the owner of a local Kreuzberg startup called Spacebase, thinks the campus would have been a positive addition to the community: “Although Kreuzberg is Berlin’s creative center, we don’t really have workspaces in the area for the community. Google’s startup campus would have provided coworking spaces.”
Berlin is also concerned with foreign investment overtaking local German businesses, especially defense- or security-related technology companies. Earlier this fall, Economic Affairs Minister Peter Altmaier argued Berlin should be permitted to investigate any non-EU investment of over 15% in German technology corporations. On the flip side, Germany-based company SAP’s recent purchase of Qualtics, an American customer experience management company, for $8 billion has been celebrated by most Berlin news outlets. Altmaier stated on several occasions Germany is still very much open to foreign investment, but the government’s turn inward from foreign capital ventures does not make Germany an attractive candidate for future multinational corporations to establish themselves.
What should have Google done?
Berlin is full of multinational corporations, including SAP, Amazon, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Deloitte, which have situated themselves in the city by, in part, selecting an appropriate district. Secondly, corporations from non-European Union countries have almost unanimously maintained a very low profile.
While SAP and Deloitte’s buildings are both visible to the public, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon maintain much lower profiles for the passerby.
Nvidia, Deloitte, and Beckhoff sit on the same block in one of Berlin’s wealthiest areas in Zoologischer Garten. The district is home to numerous corporations, fashion designers and automotive manufacturers.
As seen above, Deloitte and Beckhoff, both EU businesses, are visible from the street, while Nvidia, an American company which is worth almost 12 times more than Germany-based company Beckhoff, is almost impossible to spot by the passerby.
Amazon’s Berlin office is located just around the corner from the most famous border crossing point between East and West Berlin, Checkpoint Charlie, which today is situated within a large commercial district. Their office sign is no bigger than the access key to enter the building, which is not surprising based on the company’s entirely opposite position on workers’ rights compared with the German mindset on appropriate working conditions. Despite these stark differences of opinion and conflicts with workers’ unions, Amazon has managed to stay relatively under the Berlin radar.
Finally, the much smaller Google office located in the city center also remains relatively hidden, despite its prime location. In 2012, their office was established during a lawsuit filed against Google as well as the drafting of new data privacy rules. The Spiegel argued, “these lawsuits and plans are jeopardizing the business model of an Internet giant accustomed to success because they raise the question of who sets the rules in this business: Google, with its terms of use, or the government and courts.”
The tension between multinational technology corporations and the German public has remained largely unchanged, which Google appears to have misjudged. However, the real question is who actually suffers from this? Certainly not Google. They will move on from Berlin and easily establish themselves in other cities. For Berlin, the city must make a decision — tech capital or capital of the techno misfits and the working class?
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