Business: Facebook extends work-from-home option to July 2021.
Facebook, following the lead of other tech firms like Google and Uber, has extended its work-from-home policy until next July.
Facebook is matching fellow tech companies Google and Uber by extending its workfromhome option for all employees until July 2021.
“Based on guidance from health and government experts, as well as decisions drawn from our internal discussions about these matters, we are allowing employees to continue voluntarily working from home until July 2021,” the company confirmed. It is also providing an additional $1,000 stipend for home office equipment, following a $1,000 bonus for employees in March.
The Menlo Park social media giant had previously allowed most employees to stay home until the end of the year as the coronavirus pandemic closed its offices. It is also allowing some employees to apply for permanent remote work. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in May that half of the company’s employees, which currently total 48,000, could work from home permanently within a decade.
“Even before COVID, we had a longterm goal of enabling more remote work since the ability to feel present even
when you’re remote is a core aspect of our own product work on video presence, workplace, and virtual and augmented reality,” Zuckerberg said on an earnings call last month. “This will enable us to attract and retain broader pools of talent regardless of where they live.”
Facebook said it plans to open offices where both government guidelines allow them and coronavirus trends are consistently improving, but said it was unlikely to open many locations this year given the recent U.S. surge.
The dispersion of Facebook’s jobs, along with other tech companies, could damage the Bay Area’s economy. The tech industry boom fueled vast construction projects, the restaurant industry and boosted city budgets throughout the region in the past decade. At the same time, some residents have welcomed lower rents and less congestion during the pandemic, which could continue as workers stay home or move elsewhere. Other tech firms including Twitter, Square, Zillow and Coinbase are allowing most employees to work from home permanently.
Facebook’s shift to more remote work is not primarily based on seeking cost savings, Zuckerberg said on last month’s earnings call. Savings on real estate and amenities could be offset by higher travel expenses for employees to gather, David Wehner, Facebook’s chief financial officer, said on the call.
Facebook is continuing major real estate deals. On Monday, the company said it leased 730,000 square feet in New York’s James A. Farley Building, a former post office that spans a full city block. The office has room for around 3,000 employees based on typical occupancy rates before the pandemic, though it’s unclear how new social distancing requirements could affect that.
Facebook also has a major expansion proposed at Willow Village in Menlo Park that calls for 1.25 million square feet of office space and 1,735 apartments. Its other offices include Park Tower and 181 Fremont in San Francisco, the Burlingame Point project and a campus in Fremont.