London calling. Tech giants Apple, Google and Facebook are beefing up their staff numbers in the UK. Image: William Perugini/Shutterstock
Despite Brexit, social networking giant Facebook is the latest tech company to beef up its London workforce with 500 new jobs in the coming years.
This will boost its headcount to more than 1,500 people in London – a 50pc increase.
Facebook is preparing to move into new offices in London’s Fitzrovia district next year.
The news comes just a week after it emerged that Google is planning to increase employment in London from 4,000 to 7,000 by the end of the decade, and is investing £1bn in its King’s Cross offices.
In recent months, it also emerged that Apple is to build a mega UK headquarters for 3,000 people at the Battersea Power Station, which will house all 1,400 existing UK staff.
Brexit bedamned
The rapid increases in headcount fly in the face of fears that tech companies will want to depart the UK once it leaves the EU.
The tech industry lobby was adamant that it wanted the UK to remain in the EU, and the majority of voters in London voted to remain.
Either way, the expansion plans signal a strong commitment to each company’s respective future in the UK.
The flurry of investments are also a boost to UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who is under pressure to prove Britain remains open for business following the Brexit vote in June.
Facebook’s expansion plans are expected to be outlined today by Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at the Confederation of British Industry’s annual conference.
It is understood that many of the new Facebook roles will be highly skilled engineering jobs.
