Google, Facebook, & Salesforce To Give Up Office Spaces In Key Markets

GLOBAL – Sources revealed that some major tech firms are planning to relinquish a part of their office space in London and the US, amidst a cooling economy that has ended the tech sector’s years of rapid expansion, reported The Financial Times on Thursday morning (22 December, SGT).

For instance, three people privy to the matter disclosed that Google intends to surrender one of its London offices in Belgrave House, Victoria, by 2023.

Notably, Belgrave House is the search giant’s former headquarters in the capital, but the company’s office lease for a number of floors in the building is poised to expire. The move is part of Google’s plan to relocate most of its workers into the £1 billion King’s Cross office that is under development.

The vacating of office space has been accelerated as 10 percent of Google’s staff has chosen to work from home permanently, said the sources, who added that the search giant is considering to sublet or relinquish more of its existing office space in London.

Meanwhile, sources revealed that Facebook’s parent Meta is now looking to sublease a 310,000 sq ft office in Fitzrovia in central London. Notably, the company inked a lease for the commercial property, but it will now sublet the entire workspace without ever moving in.

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said their property footprint would be slashed to reduce costs, with hybrid staff being instructed to share desks.

Such moves mirror efforts in the United States, where the social media platform is trying to find replacement tenants for its office building in Fremont, California. Apart from axing the leases of 2 of its 3 offices in Manhattan, New York, the company has also scrapped expansion plans in Austin, Texas and will sublease the office space there instead.

Similarly, Salesforce verified that it will sublease a portion of its office floor in its office building in the City of London.

Furthermore, an office lessor shared that Microsoft and Amazon Web Services have shelved their plans to expand in London.