Facebook plans to hire 10,000 people in the EU to build its "metaverse"
By Eva Mathews (Mon, October 18th, 2021)
U.S. company Facebook on Monday unveiled its plan to hire 10,000 people in the European Union over the next five years to advance the development of what it calls the "metaverse," a nascent online world in which people live and communicate in shared virtual spaces. © Reuters/ARND WIEGMANN FILE PHOTO: The Facebook logo in Davos
It is an important step of the company towards this concept, something about which its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has proclaimed in recent months.
In September, Facebook pledged $50 million to build the "metaverse," which has received backing from companies like Roblox Corp and Epic Games, maker of the "Fortnite" video game.
Previously, the company launched a trial version of a new virtual reality remote work app, in which users of its Oculus Quest 2 headset could hold meetings with avatars of themselves.
Facebook also said in July that it was building a product team to work on the "metaverse" that would be part of Facebook Reality Labs, its augmented reality and virtual reality division.
"This investment (in new jobs) is a vote of confidence in the strength of the European tech sector and the potential of European tech talent," the company said.
"Europe is hugely important for Facebook."
Facebook plans to hire 10,000 people in the EU to build its "metaverse" (msn.com)