Facebook has announced a plan to create 10,000 new high-skilled positions across the European Union (EU) over the next five years as part of its aim to become “a metaverse company,” operating in an “embodied internet” that merges real and virtual worlds.
In the metaverse, new creative, social, and economic possibilities can be explored. In a joint statement, Nick Clegg, Facebook’s Vice President for Global Affairs, and Javier Olivan, the company’s Vice President for Central Products, indicated that Europeans will be designing it from the outset.
“This investment demonstrates confidence in the European tech industry’s strength and the potential of European tech talent,” Clegg and Olivan said.
Good environment to invest
Facebook did not say which of the EU’s 27 member states will house its new staff, but it did name a few to highlight the benefits that, in its opinion, make Europe “a terrific environment for digital businesses to invest.”
The latest step follows the company’s announcement last month of a two-year $50 million investment in global research and program partners to support “responsible metaverse development.”
They said that European companies are at the forefront of various industries, such as “German biotech aiding in the development of the first-ever MRNA vaccine” and “a coalition of European neo-banks spearheading the future of finance.”
Registering record levels of investment
Additionally, Spain is experiencing record levels of investment in businesses that deal with everything from online grocery delivery to neuro-electronics, while Sweden is on its way to becoming the world’s first cashless society by 2023.
Facebook has a diverse presence in Europe’s labor markets, with operations in Belgium, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom currently hiring more than 600 people.
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