Facebook embraces remote work outside Silicon Valley

Facebook Inc will permanently embrace remote work even after coronavirus lockdowns ease, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told employees, accelerating the tech sector’s geographic diversification away from its home in Silicon Valley.

Zuckerberg said the world’s largest social network would start “aggressively opening up remote hiring,” expecting that about half its workforce would work remotely over the next five to 10 years.

The company would take a more “measured approach” with existing employees based on job function and past performance, he said, and set a January 1, 2021 deadline for staff to update the company on their new locations.

Facebook, which has already said it will stick to plans to hire 10,000 engineers and product employees this year, will also build three new “hubs” in Atlanta, Dallas and Denver where remote workers in those areas could occasionally meet.