According to the Financial Times, Meta (formerly Facebook) paid US$181 million to terminate the lease of an office in London that has never been occupied (Note: currently about 1.323 billion yuan).
Meta has 18 years remaining on its lease at 1 Triton Square, but the company paid the equivalent of seven years’ rent to end it early.
In 2021, Meta committed to leasing an extensively refurbished eight-storey building in Regent’s Park near the UK capital, London. However, Meta never actually moved into the office building. In December, the company said it had “decided to sublet its Triton Square offices”.
The move comes after Mark Zuckerberg declared a “Year of Efficiency,” during which the company laid off 21,000 employees. Some employees in hybrid working arrangements have also been told to share desks. In December, Meta moved out of two of its New York offices.
Meta has three other London offices still open, one of which is just 120 yards from Triton Square and spans ten floors.
Meta said in late 2022 that it was undertaking “an ongoing rationalization of our office footprint” as part of cost-cutting measures.
