Facebook has established itself as a huge employer in the San Francisco area. Its premises in Menlo Park, for example, on the outskirts of the city, are a complex of 30 buildings scattered over more than 100 hectares. However, the price of real estate in the area is extremely high, and many employees must therefore take public transport from Oakland, from Central Valley, and even further.
With the current transport network, the journey can take up to several hours – and it is therefore in this context that Facebook has tried to act to remedy the situation. The social network came up with the idea of opening a railway line. A project launched three years before the 2020 pandemic, and which for a time seemed to be progressing, including on the side of local elected officials. Facebook invested more than $20 million in the project – before abandoning it three years later.
Facebook is aware of its impact in the San Francisco area – and wanted a solution
A manager of the firm involved in the project explains: “we felt we had an obligation not only to be the organizers of the community we manage online but we also had a responsibility to effectively organize the community where we had a physical presence”explains Elliot Schrage, former Facebook vice-president in charge of communication and public policy.
The firm approached local officials in 2017 – and proposed to rehabilitate an abandoned line (Dumbarton Rail Bridge) to build its public transport axis. The problem is that the pandemic has completely changed the situation. For a time, Facebook wanted its employees to return to face-to-face work. But little by little the firm converted to telework.
And even with the bulk of the lockdowns ending, Facebook continues to allow all employees who can to work from home. Suddenly, 20 million dollars invested and 3 years later, Meta decided to pull the plug. Before parting with 13% of its workforce at the end of the pandemic, putting a final nail in this type of initiative. But in doing so Meta also leaves local communities without alternatives, as real estate prices continue to drive workers away from Silicon Valley without the transportation infrastructure being adjusted.
The mayor of the city of Union City, who was likely to be on the route of the project, does not hide his disappointment: “it was very promising”recalls Carol Dutra-Vernaci, and to add “I was so excited realizing it was going to happen”. Still, becoming a more active local player obviously cannot be improvised, even for a company like Meta…
