A Silicon Valley exodus, law firm drama, and the most consequential startup of all time

Hello!

The remote work movement is accelerating.

Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday that he expects up to 50% of Facebook's employees to work remotely by 2030. Shopify boss Tobi Lutke tweeted that the company's offices would remain closed until 2021 and that most will permanently work remotely after that. "Office centricity is over," he said.

Those statements follow Twitter and Square employees being told they could work remotely permanently.

What does that mean for Silicon Valley's status as the tech hub?

As Rob Price reported this week, a survey of thousands of San Francisco Bay Area techies found that two out of three would consider leaving if they could permanently work remotely, suggesting a huge amount of pent up demand to leave what is an incredibly expensive city.

What does it mean for compensation and staff costs? Zuckerberg said that those who leave Silicon Valley might face pay cuts, which makes business sense but could be hard to pull off without damaging morale.

What does it mean for hiring and employee retention? For commercial and residential real estate in the cities the employees are leaving and moving to? Silicon Valley's rivals certainly see this moment as a growth opportunity.

We'll have lots more coverage on this in the coming weeks, but I'd love to get your take. What percentage of tech employees currently living and working in Silicon Valley would you expect to leave in the next five years? And where do you think they're likely to move to? Let me know.

In the meantime, here's some of our best coverage on the topic from the past few days:

• The remote work boom will make it harder for big tech companies like Facebook and Google to recruit top talent, according to Rob. That's a good thing, he writes.
• Facebook's remote-working plan is doomed, according to David Plotz, who writes the Insider Today newsletter with our CEO Henry Blodget. Henry in contrast argues in the same article that some people will be stoked to work remotely forever.
• Meanwhile, Facebook is eyeing offices in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, and Denver to act as "hubs" to support 50% of its workers staying remote, Dan Geiger reports. It's a move that could upend Silicon Valley and NYC real estate.
• Long live the "dynamic" workplace, says Okta CEO Todd McKinnon, who's been experimenting with this new concept for a year and talked to Julie Bort.
• As Facebook, Twitter and others say OK to permanent remote work, these 6 startups building tools to work outside the office are Silicon Valley's new darlings, according to Bani Sapra.
• And Rob reported that a Sam Altman-backed housebuilding startup is trying to convince tech workers to abandon the high-priced Bay Area.

Elsewhere in tech news:

• "I am truly sorry": Read the full email Uber's CEO sent employees after laying off 25% of the company's staff in 2 weeks
• IBM is cutting "several thousand" jobs, a month after new CEO Arvind Krishna withdrew its financial outlook
• Intercom, a $1.3 billion messaging startup backed by Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, laid off 39 employees and is relocating 47 roles to Dublin
• SoFi just cut 7% of staff based on performance reviews, and is eliminating a team by automating it away. The moves come a month after the fintech announced a $1.2 billion acquisition
  

Law firm drama

Casey Sullivan and Meghan Morris have the inside track on drama at elite law firm Boies Schiller. From their story:

Over the past six months, more than 30 partners have exited the firm, which was founded by superlawyer David Boies — best known for his role in cases like Bush v. Gore and the fight for same-sex marriage rights.

Business Insider spoke with more than 50 people, including current and former Boies Schiller attorneys, about the key issues behind the turnover, and events that help explain the firm's shrinking.

You can read the story in full here:

Pay rifts, a partner divide, and a threat at the Ritz Carlton: 50 insiders reveal all on a massive shakeup at elite law firm Boies Schiller

The most consequential startup of all time

And Andrew Dunn has the untold story of Moderna, the biotech startup that has skyrocketed to global prominence, leading the world's race for a coronavirus vaccine. From his story:

In its short corporate history, Moderna has grown accustomed to breaking records.

A $450 million funding round in 2015 was a record for the biotech industry. Moderna raised even more the next year. And its 2018 initial public offering was the largest ever for a biotech.

Then, this year, the coronavirus struck. Moderna lapped the drug industry in crafting a coronavirus vaccine candidate, zooming past Big Pharma competitors that dwarf the company in size and resources.

Moderna's experimental serum was the first to begin human testing in mid-March. Now, the biotech is aiming to be ready this fall for emergency use, a development timeline without precedent.

His story aims to answer a key question:

In taking on the coronavirus, Moderna has gone mainstream and become of the most consequential startups of all time. Is it ready for the moment? You can read his story in full here:

The untold story of Moderna as the biotech's coronavirus vaccine faces a test that could make it one of the most consequential startups of all time

Below are headlines on some of the stories you might have missed from the past week. Enjoy the long weekend!

-- Matt

Wall Street poured billions into campus housing — thinking it was an easy win. With colleges sitting empty, here are the bets that could get hit the hardest.

A Wall Street equity chief lays out 5 reasons why another 'significant drawdown' in stocks is coming right after the fastest crash in history

Meet 23 rising star investors scouting the next breakout enterprise software startups in industries like 'boring AI' and 'SMBtech'

Magic Leap just raised a $350 million investment round as it tries to secure its future — read the email CEO Rony Abovitz sent employees

WPP PR giant Hill + Knowlton Strategies was starting to revive its US business. Now the pandemic threatens to unwind those efforts.

Warehouse properties are suddenly red-hot, with Amazon snapping up space while ailing companies sell. Here's a look at key deals and market forecasts that lay out a huge opportunity for industrial real-estate.

POWER PLAYERS OF CONSULTING: Meet the 38 consultancy stars disrupting the $130 billion industry and solving problems for clients in crisis

College students don't want to return in the fall, and it could cause many universities to collapse

Read the original article on Business Insider