Facebook plans to produce 10,000 jobs across the European Union (EU) over the coming five years in pursuit of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of a “metaverse,” company announce-ed in a press release Monday.
Zuckerberg first told The Verge in July that he wants Facebook to ultimately become a “metaverse company.” The word metaverse refers to a theoretical virtual space where people can access internet, for illustration using VR or AR headsets.
The first concrete Ex. of a Facebook metaverse product is Horizon Work Rooms, a VR workspace for platoon meetings launched in August.
Facebook said the jobs it creates in the EU would be high skilled, including technical specialised roles. “This investment is a vote of confidence in strength of the European tech industry & potential of European tech talent, “Facebook said in a statement shared with Insider.
A Facebook spokes-person told Insider the company recruiters would target countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, & Ireland.
The announce-ment came the same day whistleblower Sophie Zhang, a former Facebook data scientist who went public with her criticisms of the company in April, was due to give evidence to a UK administrative committee.
Another whistleblower, Frances Haugen, is expected to testify before the committee next week.
