Work-From-Anywhere Perks Give Silicon Valley a New Edge in Talent War
For decades, landing some of the most desirable tech jobs meant having to live there, dealing with exorbitant housing costs and long commutes. The pandemic has served as a pressure-release valve for both the companies and their workforces. Of nine tech companies that shared relocation data with The Wall Street Journal, approximately 9% of employees they counted as living in the Bay Area made permanent moves away from the region during the pandemic. The companies, including Twitter Inc., Slack Technologies Inc., and Dropbox Inc., had a total of more than 9,000 workers in the area as of early 2020.
Some headed beyond commuting distance to cities such as Sacramento and Los Angeles, or left the state for existing tech hubs including Austin. Whether it was living out a dream of settling in the mountains or moving back East near family, plans people hoped to make good on five to 10 years from now became plans for right now.
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Some industry observers warn that Big Tech's extended geographic reach could stifle innovation. Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at the Fletcher School at Tufts University said sectors like artificial intelligence are already heavily concentrated among a small number of companies.
"If you imagine Google and Facebook and Apple and Amazon and Microsoft, they start hiring AI talent from Philadelphia, Houston and so on and so forth, those tiny startups, which also are a critical part of the AI ecosystem, they are not going to be able to get that talent," he said.
The Silicon Valley diaspora could also export its social woes. The median home price in Bozeman, Mont., climbed 50% in June compared with the year-earlier month, according to the Gallatin Association of Realtors.