Even as the tussle between global technology major Facebook Inc and the European Union continues in multiple legislation and regulatory proceedings, the technology company has announced plans to hire as many as 10,000 new employees in the European Union over the next five years, Facebook said on Monday.
According to the social media giant, the move is likely to help build the so-called metaverse – a nascent online world where people exist and communicate in shared virtual spaces. This comes after the company in September committed $50 million towards building the metaverse, where companies like Roblox Corp and ‘Fortnite’ maker Epic Games have an early foothold.
The company has also launched a test of a new virtual-reality remote work app where users of the company’s Oculus Quest 2 headsets can hold meetings as avatar versions of themselves. Facebook also said in July it was creating a product team to work on the metaverse which would be part of Facebook Reality Labs, its augmented reality and virtual reality group.
“This investment (in new jobs) is a vote of confidence in the strength of the European tech industry and the potential of European tech talent,” the company said.
