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Half of Facebook workforce could remote work permanently, with some facing pay cuts

Around 50% of Facebook workforce could work from home in the future. Credit: Getty
Around 50% of Facebook workforce could work from home in the future. Photo: Getty

Facebook (FB) could have half its workforce permanently working from home in the next decade, Mark Zuckerberg announced this week.

The tech giant’s boss released a public video on Thursday outlining the company's remote working policy for its 45,000 staff.

Zuckerberg said about 50% of employees could be working remotely for good in the next five to 10 years.

But he warned this could mean some workers receive lower salaries related to their cost of living.

Facebook will start “aggressively” opening up hiring for remote workers, Zuckerberg said and establishing new hubs away from Silicon Valley.

“Certainly being able to recruit more broadly, especially across the US and Canada to start, is going to open up a lot of new talent that previously wouldn't have considered moving to a big city,” he said.

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The industry, which relies on work completed on computers is in a strong position for remote or home working. But tech companies also have a culture of large work campuses with collaborative spaces and leisure activities.

READ MORE: UK plans cut in Huawei's 5G network involvement to zero by 2023

But now the Facebook chief executive has said some existing employees can apply to work remotely enabling them to live in cheaper cities. They have until 1 January to tell the company where they are living which may result in a pay cut.

Facebook already pays different salaries based on locations.

Engineers with strong performance reviews will be the first group allowed to apply for remote work.

The company will adjust salaries depending on where employees live, meaning those working remotely in places where the cost of living is cheaper will be paid less.

But executive pay is likely to stay high, even for remote positions, to enable Facebook to compete with rivals.

Most employees have already been told to work remotely until the end of the year although a small number of offices may open from the beginning of July with social distancing restrictions in force.

The army of 15,000 content moderators are likely to continue operating from the office due to the sensitive nature of their work.

Meanwhile Twitter (TWTR) said last week that employees who were able to, could continue working from anywhere, forever.