Facebook to double numbers in Zurich office

Facebook opened an office in Switzerland’s financial hub after the acquisition of Zurich Eye. Keystone

Facebook wants to double the number of employees at its Zurich office, which currently employs 80 people, according to the regional head of the social network.  

In Zurich, where the American giant has been operating since 2016, the employees work mainly in the field of augmented reality and virtual reality.

“In the future, their number will have to double, also in the commercial sector,” Tino Krause, the head of the social network for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, announced in an interview with the German daily “Handelsblatt” published on Tuesday.

Facebook opened an office in Switzerland’s financial hub after the acquisition of Zurich Eye, a spinoff of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich).

With the Zurich office, the importance of the German-speaking region is growing, Krause said. He described this market as “decisive”, since the “data protection theme is resolutely being pursued from here”.

“My ambition is clearly that our region should be a pioneer in data protection,” he added, noting that progress made in this region will have a major influence on product development in the United States.

Data Security

Facebook, he continued, has “radically” changed in terms of data security. In this area, the company invested $3.7 billion (CHF 3.7 billion) this year and employs 30,000 people in this area. “Everyone knows: Facebook must become more secure,” he said.

The Federal Trade Commission Protecting America’s Consumers fine Facebook a whopping $5 billion this summer  – the largest ever imposed on a company anywhere for violating consumers’ privacy.

Among Facebook employees, the duty to protect users and their data “whatever they do or develop” is clear, notes Kreuse.

The Swiss parliament is currently discussing an overhaul of data protection laws.

The revision aims to better defend citizens’ rights when a company collects their data. It also aims to adapt to European standards.