Vacant office buildings are piling up across the country as companies adopt remote or hybrid work models, slash headcount, and panic exit out of metro areas where Democrats are failing to enforce law and order.
The hybrid work model is becoming standard in corporate America. More troublesome is the exponential rate at which companies implement artificial intelligence systems that will displace hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of jobs in the coming years.
Silicon Valley companies, such as Google and Facebook parent Meta Platforms close, understand these change tides and have dumped office space at an increasing pace, reported The Wall Street Journal.
New data from CoStar Group shows office-vacancy rates in Silicon Valley, which includes the Northern California communities of San Jose, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale, increased in June to 17%, up from 11% in 2019. In some areas, such as Mountain View and Menlo Park, the rate exceeds 20%.
About 35 miles from Palo Alto is the crime-ridden and drug-infested area of downtown San Francisco where a recent Coldwell Banker report showed office vacancy rate hit a record high of 29.4%. The knock-on effects of a shrinking office worker population have devastated the local economy as businesses close their doors and building owners default on loans, unleashing a financial doom loop.
And then there's progressive city leadership that has transformed the once thriving metro area into a hellhole with disastrous social justice reforms. Mayor London Breed admitted to her failed policies by reversing her decision to now fund the police after defunding.
... and there's no accountability for Breed. Or the voters will ensure accountability is served in the next mayoral election.
