Texas closed the week with a wave of major infrastructure commitments, expansion announcements, and shifting labor signals. Google pledged $880 million more into its Midlothian data center campus as ERCOT approved a $9.4 billion transmission “superhighway” designed to support the state’s surging power demand — mostly from data centers and industrial loads.

Austin greenlit a $5.5 million incentive deal tied to more than 2,000 new Southwest Airlines jobs, while new WARN filings showed 529 Texas layoffs across several industries — a reminder that Texas’ growth story still has pockets of stress. At the same time, Houston’s economic forecast points to ~31,000 new jobs in 2026, reinforcing long-term regional strength.

On the regulatory side, the Texas Attorney General opened audits into major city budgets under a new fiscal transparency law. And in the Real Texas Story, an invasive pest continues to threaten forage supply for ranchers, creating unexpected economic pressure in rural markets.

Here’s what actually matters this week for Texas operators, investors, and builders.