During a livestreamed staff meeting on his Facebook page, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, announced that in the next ten years, up to half of the company's 48,000 employees may work from home. He stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in how people work, and he believes remote work will continue to be a growing trend. This decision by Facebook marks a significant shift in the tech industry, which has traditionally focused on having employees work in large offices with amenities like free shuttle buses and cafeterias. If other major companies follow suit, there may be a shift in tech employment away from expensive hubs like Silicon Valley, Seattle, and New York City. The ability to work remotely from home may give tech workers who feel their high salaries are still not enough to afford a home in San Francisco or San Jose a reason to consider relocating to other parts of the country. Mark Zuckerberg recently announced this option, following similar decisions at Twitter and Square, both led by Jack Dorsey. Dorsey stated that employees at his companies can work from home indefinitely, while Google has allowed remote work until the end of the year with no permanent plans announced. Remote work seems to be gaining popularity among tech professionals. Following Dorsey's announcement, there was a notable increase in Google searches for "Twitter jobs," as reported by Google Trends. Aaron Levie, the CEO of Box, a business technology company, took to Twitter to express his belief that the shift towards remote work is as revolutionary for the tech industry as the introduction of the iPhone over ten years ago. Tech leaders have long emphasized the importance of in-person communication in fostering creativity and innovation in product development. This belief was reflected in the elaborate campuses of companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Even before the pandemic, major tech corporations were already looking to expand beyond their main headquarters, following the example set by older companies like Intel. Amazon, for instance, is planning to establish a second headquarters in Virginia, with the coronavirus pandemic potentially speeding up this process. Robert Silverman, a professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo specializing in urban and regional planning, noted that prior to the pandemic, there was a focus on bringing employees to physical work locations and addressing affordable housing issues in the tech sector. The current situation could lead to significant effects on local communities, as employees leave major urban tech hubs and face layoffs. For example, housing prices in the Bay Area have already decreased since the start of the pandemic, according to Zumper, a rental firm. Rental prices dropped by 7% in San Francisco and 15% in Menlo Park, where Facebook is located. Mark Zuckerberg has expressed concerns about remote employees losing productivity. Facebook used to offer bonuses to employees living within 10 miles of headquarters. In 2018, Facebook expanded its main campus with Frank Gehry-designed offices and a large roof garden. Recently, Facebook moved into a 43-story office tower in San Francisco and is considering a major office expansion in New York. In March, due to the coronavirus lockdown, companies were required to have employees work from home. Tech companies like Facebook cleared out their offices even before local shelter-in-place orders were issued. Now, over two months later, executives are finding that their remote workers exceeded their expectations in performance. Zuckerberg noted that employees were able to stay focused while working from home. Facebook's plan is to start by permitting new senior engineers to work remotely, and then later allowing current employees to request to work from home if they have received positive performance evaluations. In January, Facebook will adjust employee compensation based on the cost of living in their chosen locations. The company will verify employee locations by monitoring where they log in to internal systems. Zuckerberg believes this change will have more advantages than disadvantages for Facebook, as it will enable broader recruitment, retention of valuable employees, reduction of climate impact from commuting, and diversification of the workforce. Currently, Facebook, Square, and Twitter are leading the industry in implementing remote work policies. Their work primarily involves writing software code, which can be managed remotely. However, at Apple, a large number of employees are hardware engineers who must work in the company's lab due to the strict confidentiality surrounding its products. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, announced in April that the main office in Silicon Valley would remain closed until at least June, with no updates on when it will reopen. Startups may struggle with managing a remote workforce, as Silicon Valley provides a vast talent pool from which startups typically recruit. While allowing employees to work remotely from the Midwest could lower costs, it may also pose challenges for startups. Many venture capitalists, primarily located in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, prefer to invest in companies that are also located nearby. Snap, the company behind Snapchat based in Los Angeles, has allowed its employees to work from home until September. Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snap, mentioned in an interview that he regularly reassesses the situation and takes guidance from health authorities on when to reopen. Spiegel emphasized the importance of remaining flexible in a rapidly changing situation, despite the pressure to make definitive statements as a leader.