Meta, the parent company of Facebook, will soon open an office and establish a “significant presence” in Durham, according to reporting by WRAL TechWire.
The company has not yet released a public statement announcing this move, but several local job openings have been posted online over the past few days. Meta spokesperson Jamila Reeves wrote in an email to WRAL that Meta has “nothing to share regarding any plans in the Research Triangle at this time.”
The opening of Meta’s office will likely create many new jobs and generate revenue for the area, but may also exacerbate some of the issues Durham has been facing, including lack of affordable housing and more traffic congestion.
Multiple Durham City Council members have expressed concerns about the effect Meta’s presence will have on equitable development in Durham.
Mayor Pro Tempore Mark Anthony Middleton wrote to WRAL that Meta’s move to Durham will “present a not so unique set of challenges to push for safeguards against gentrification and to ensure the participation of native Black and Brown Durhamites in the growing wealth of our city.”
Councilmember Javiera Caballero similarly expressed “some trepidation” about Meta’s impact on housing prices for longtime Durham residents.
Meta’s announcement comes in the wake of other major technology companies opening offices in the Triangle. Google announced in March 2021 that they would open a cloud computing hub in Durham, which they estimated would bring over 1,000 jobs to the area. Their office opened in January. In April 2021, Apple planned to open a campus in Raleigh and employ around 3,000 workers.
Meta’s former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is planning to visit Durham on Friday for “unrelated business,” according to WRAL.
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Anisha Reddy is a Trinity junior and a senior editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.