The tech giants are hiring fewer and engineers have fully embraced remote work, but Google is opening futuristic new offices in Silicon Valley, which is watching the new trends in the world of work. In Mountain View, 1 mile from their headquarters, the California group has built two huge glass buildings covered in solar panels.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, did not disclose the cost of its “Bay View Campus”, which will be able to employ up to 4,500 people. At the end of March, the company had about 164,000 employees worldwide, up 17% from a year ago.
The picture is different among some other companies in the sector. Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Snap or Uber recently announced hiring cuts due to the unfavorable economic context after hiring left and right during the pandemic.
Connecting and disconnecting
Various companies such as Twitterin San Francisco left the door open for remote work, as many engineers prefer this way. Many are struggling to bring back teams in person, especially due to coronavirus fears. “I think 10% of (Google) employees have chosen and managed to work from home,” said Michelle Kaufmann, director of research and development for Google offices, during the press trip.
Kaufmann hopes the new offices, conceived long before the pandemic, will satisfy other employees who split their week between in-person and remote work. The facilities have restaurants, cafes, a fitness center, and meeting rooms around several “communal squares”.
There are no walls in the offices so that there is communication between the teams, the architect points out. Google hopes to separate teamwork and creativity so that more solo tasks can be done at home. Construction took five years with ambitious environmental goals. Alphabet aims to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Thanks to solar panels and geothermal panels, the new campus is 90% time independent. Recycled water is used for everything that does not require potable water. Ventilation systems use 100% of the air coming from outside, instead of the average 20% in standard offices. “Fortunately, a lot of the things we expected are working wonders with the coronavirus,” says Kaufmann. According to him, the virus “accelerated” the processes. AFP.
Source: RPP
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.