Facebook to create 10,000 jobs as it starts to build a ‘metaverse’

The move will add to the 6,000 people the company already employs in Dublin, Meath and Cork.

Facebook says the metaverse will be “a new phase of interconnected virtual experiences using technologies like virtual and augmented reality”.

The social networking giant, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus, plans to build new online systems for people to meet and work virtually, as well as spending time playing games. It has already launched an online office meeting rooms platform for people using virtual reality headsets.

“Today’s announcement is a commitment to grow in Ireland and across Europe and in our long-term investment in European talent to help build the metaverse,” said Gareth Lambe, head of Facebook ­Ireland.

“Facebook is at the start of a journey to help build the next computing platform. Facebook Ireland has played an important role in our company’s growth and success to date.”

Facebook employs 6,000 people across multiple Irish locations, including its international headquarters in Dublin, its data centre in Meath and its ‘Reality Lab’ office in Cork. The company is developing a giant new headquarters building in Dublin’s Ballsbridge.

The newly announced jobs, which will be in areas such as engineering, and product and business functions, will be “a mixture of in-office and remote”, according to the company. They are aimed at “opening up opportunities in Ireland and in new locations across the EU” and will be created in the next five years, the company says.

Facebook previously announced that most employees can opt to work full-time remotely from a number of European countries, if their job allows them to do so. The same policy will apply to these new jobs, according to the company.

“We have long believed that European talent is world-leading, which is why we have invested in it so heavily over the years, from funding grants at the Technical University of Munich to opening our first major European AI research lab and Fair accelerator programme in France, and Facebook Reality Labs office in Cork,” said Nick Clegg, the company’s vice-president of global affairs and former deputy British prime minister.

“Beyond emerging tech talent, the EU also has an important role to play in shaping the new rules of the internet. European policymakers are leading the way in helping to embed European values like free expression, privacy, transparency and the rights of individuals into the day-to-day workings of the internet.

“We hope to see the completion of the Digital Single Market to support Europe’s existing advantages, as well as stability on international data flows which are essential to a flourishing digital economy.”