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I dont quite understand the situation. Before Covid people for the most part worked at the office? Then there was a period where people worked from home. Now

I dont quite understand the situation. Before Covid people for the most part worked at the office? Then there was a period where people worked from home. Now they have to return to the office 3 days a week. Esp considering sold layoffs, would the amount of space availalbe now, be the same as prior to Covid? Or did Facebook hire so many people during Covid, that the layoffs were not enough to return to pre covid numbers? Or did Facebook close / sell part of their office space?

fmajid 3y ago
They did hire a lot during the pandemic, and have recently broken the lease on a London office with a $180M penalty or 7 years of rent (they had 18 years left).
- ghaff 3y ago
  For all the conspiracy theorists claiming that RTO is being driven by CEOs propping up the commercial real estate investments of their buddies, anecdotally I'm seeing quite a bit of companies not renewing or even breaking leases, putting most expansion plans on hold, and either leasing much smaller dedicated spaces or even just making co-working arrangements.
  - fmajid 3y ago
    That is indeed a bizarre theory. No amount of kudos from golfing buddies is going to make up for the raises they could have given themselves for cutting office costs. One thing I expect to happen is companies will install more one-person soundproofed cubbies for salespeople to make calls without disturbing the entire floor, or people to have videoconferences. What I would love to see is now that offices are less loaded, have more individual offices where people can concentrate and work rather than open-plan layouts that were really introduced because they are space-efficient, mealy-mouthed rationalizations about collaboration notwitstanding.
bluescrn 3y ago
Covid fizzled out, then we were told we were amidst an imminent climate apocalypse. Good time to make that end to unnecessary commuting permanent, right? Didn't last long, did it?

fmajid 3y ago

They did hire a lot during the pandemic, and have recently broken the lease on a London office with a $180M penalty or 7 years of rent (they had 18 years left).

ghaff 3y ago
For all the conspiracy theorists claiming that RTO is being driven by CEOs propping up the commercial real estate investments of their buddies, anecdotally I'm seeing quite a bit of companies not renewing or even breaking leases, putting most expansion plans on hold, and either leasing much smaller dedicated spaces or even just making co-working arrangements.
- fmajid 3y ago
  That is indeed a bizarre theory. No amount of kudos from golfing buddies is going to make up for the raises they could have given themselves for cutting office costs. One thing I expect to happen is companies will install more one-person soundproofed cubbies for salespeople to make calls without disturbing the entire floor, or people to have videoconferences. What I would love to see is now that offices are less loaded, have more individual offices where people can concentrate and work rather than open-plan layouts that were really introduced because they are space-efficient, mealy-mouthed rationalizations about collaboration notwitstanding.

bluescrn 3y ago

Covid fizzled out, then we were told we were amidst an imminent climate apocalypse. Good time to make that end to unnecessary commuting permanent, right? Didn't last long, did it?