Facebook plans to “overhaul its working practices”, says Hannah Murphy in the Financial Times. CEO Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) has told staff that the 45,000-strong company is “opening up remote hiring”, with the aim of getting half of its staff to work remotely in the next five to ten years. That would save on office costs and allow Facebook to reduce salaries for those working from lower-cost areas and help it ditch the $15,000 moving bonus it pays to new hires.
Facebook isn’t the only company enthusiastic about remote working, says Tae Kim on Bloomberg. Twitter and Shopify are fans too. But the CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software predicts that “sustained strong productivity will get more difficult the longer people are forced to work from home”. Microsoft’s CEO thinks that “managing and mentoring employees” will be difficult.
Still, even if Facebook retains its offices, it hopes to profit from the boom in remote working in other ways, says Richard Speed on The Register. Zuckerberg says that paid membership of Facebook’s Workplace platform (its equivalent of Zoom) had increased from three to five million. It is even hoping that virtual reality (VR) could help people collaborate from home, which would be good news for Facebook’s VR division Oculus.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
However, for now Facebook’s efforts lag far behind both Zoom, which claims to have 300 million daily users, and Microsoft, whose collaboration tool Microsoft Teams has 75 million.
-
A junior ISA could turn your child’s pocket money into thousands of poundsPersuading your child to put their pocket money in a junior ISA might be difficult, but the pennies could quickly grow into pounds – and teach them a valuable lesson about money
-
Cost of Christmas dinner jumps 6.5% as grocery price inflation rises againThe average Christmas dinner for four now costs £32.57 as grocery price inflation increases - but what does it mean for interest rates?
-
Halifax: House price slump continues as prices slide for the sixth consecutive monthUK house prices fell again in September as buyers returned, but the slowdown was not as fast as anticipated, latest Halifax data shows. Where are house prices falling the most?
-
Rents hit a record high - but is the opportunity for buy-to-let investors still strong?UK rent prices have hit a record high with the average hitting over £1,200 a month says Rightmove. Are there still opportunities in buy-to-let?
-
Pension savers turn to gold investmentsInvestors are racing to buy gold to protect their pensions from a stock market correction and high inflation, experts say
-
Where to find the best returns from student accommodationStudent accommodation can be a lucrative investment if you know where to look.
-
Best investing appsLooking for an easy-to-use app to help you start investing, keep track of your portfolio or make trades on the go? We round up the best investing apps
-
The world’s best bargain stocksSearching for bargain stocks with Alec Cutler of the Orbis Global Balanced Fund, who tells Andrew Van Sickle which sectors are being overlooked.
-
Revealed: the cheapest cities to own a home in BritainNew research reveals the cheapest cities to own a home, taking account of mortgage payments, utility bills and council tax
-
UK recession: How to protect your portfolioAs the UK recession is confirmed, we look at ways to protect your wealth.
