VANCOUVER, Wash. — Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, had been looking for real estate within southwest Washington, as the Portland Business Journal reported in October.
That was before CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week announced plans to lay off more than 11,000 employees and cull real estate. Now, it's unclear how cutbacks would affect the tech company's possible Vancouver move.
The company had sought workers in the city. What's more, it was looking for research and development space, according to people with knowledge of the search, though the Business Journal at the time wasn't able to confirm whether any lease was signed.
As of Friday, Meta had not responded to requests for comment on the October story. But on Thursday, Meta issued a statement in response to questions from the Business Journal about Vancouver. It leaned into the idea of remote work.
"We're currently assessing our global real estate portfolio. The future of work is here and we're embracing it at Meta," a company spokesperson said in an email.
"The past few years have brought new possibilities around the role of the office, and we are prioritizing making focused, balanced investments to support our most strategic long-term priorities and lead the way in creating the workplace of the future," the spokesperson continued. "Our aim is to build a best-in-class remote work experience to help everyone do the best work of their careers no matter where they are."
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In a message to workers this week, Zuckerberg outlined Menlo Park, California-based Meta's downsizing real estate and layoffs.
"We've cut costs across our business, including scaling back budgets, reducing perks, and shrinking our real estate footprint," Zuckerberg said. "We're restructuring teams to increase our efficiency. But these measures alone won't bring our expenses in line with our revenue growth, so I've also made the hard decision to let people go."
The company has dumped leases and deals for offices throughout the U.S., with more consolidation likely as it plans to take $2 billion worth of charges in 2023 to pare its footprint. Meta plans to take $900 million of charges this year in order to consolidate offices and end leases, according to the San Francisco Business Times, a PBJ sister publication.
