Social networking giant Facebook has recently announced that it plans to hire an additional 1000 people in the UK by the end of 2020. The new jobs will be announced on a visit to London today by Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg.
Technology-focused roles!
Notably, half of the new jobs will be technology-focused with roles in software engineering, product design, and data science, as well as developing products, including Workplace and WhatsApp. On top of that, the positions will also see the continued expansion of Facebook’s artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, and engineering infrastructure teams in London.
Community Integrity team!
A significant number of openings will be in Facebook’s Community Integrity (CI) team, which used to detect and remove harmful content from its platforms proactively. The company’s London offices are a hub for the CI teams covering Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp and are responsible for everything from fighting spam and abuse to addressing violence and personal safety.
4000 employees by 2020 end!
By the end of 2020, over 4000 employees will be in technology-focused roles. The company is also in the process of constructing its new office space across two buildings in London’s King’s Cross, which will have the potential to house up to 6,000 workstations. The first building is due to open in late 2021.
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer:
The UK is a world leader in both innovation and creativity. That’s why I’m excited that we plan to hire an additional 1,000 people in London this year alone. London is home to Facebook’s biggest engineering hub outside the US, and we’re committed to investing here for the long-term. Many of these high-skilled jobs will help us address the challenges of an open internet and develop artificial intelligence to find and remove harmful content more quickly. They will also help us build the tools that help small businesses grow, compete with larger companies, and create new jobs.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
The UK is at the center of tech growth and innovation and is leading the way as the world’s biggest tech hub outside of Silicon Valley. It’s great news Facebook plans to create a thousand more jobs in London – yet another sign of the strength of our dynamic tech sector. The UK is successfully creating both homegrown firms at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, whilst attracting established global tech giants like Facebook. We are committed to making the UK the safest place in the world to be online, alongside being one of the best places for technology companies to be based.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
London’s tech sector is a global success story and the 1,000 new jobs Facebook is creating shows that our city has the talent to attract tech companies of all sizes from across the world. Facebook’s commitment to growing its business in the capital demonstrates that London is open and remains at the forefront of tech innovation.
Image credits: Shutterstock/Chinnapong
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