Facebook is not afraid of Brexit.
The company is adding 800 tech jobs in London over the next year as it establishes its biggest engineering hub outside the U.S. The announcement coincided with Facebook opening a new office in the center of the city.
Once the new jobs are filled, Facebook will employ 2,300 people in London.
“Facebook is more committed than ever to the U.K.,” said Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s senior executive in Europe.
That commitment will give an important boost to the U.K. tech sector, coming as it does at a time of significant nervousness among British companies about what Brexit will mean for their business.
“The UK’s flourishing entrepreneurial ecosystem and international reputation for engineering excellence makes it one of the best places in the world to build a tech company,” Mendelsohn added.
Britain is due to leave the European Union in March 2019 and businesses still have little clarity over the country’s future relationship with the EU.
At the moment, companies based in the U.K. are free to do business across the bloc without having to jump regulatory hurdles. They can also hire workers from any of the 27 EU member states.
That could all change. The U.K. government has said Britain will leave the EU’s internal market and restrict immigration after Brexit. That could exacerbate a skills shortage — according to research by techUK, an industry body, 31% of workers in the digital sector in London are foreigners.
Facebook didn’t comment on those risks on Monday.
Its new office will also host an in-house tech incubator called LDN_LAB. Facebook said it will invite U.K. startups to take part in programs designed to help kick start and accelerate their businesses.
