When Mark Zuckerberg met Seattle: Facebook, Meta, and a turning point for Silicon Valley

“We were like, alright, at some point, we should probably think about opening up offices in other places. And we figured that Seattle would be a good starting place.”

That was Mark Zuckerberg in 2011, speaking at Facebook’s fledgling offices across from Pike Place Market. In the decade that followed, the social network grew to more than 8,000 people across numerous offices in the Seattle area, as the company reached nearly 3 billion users across the globe, and continued to expand under the Meta umbrella … until this week.

On a new episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we discuss Meta's decision to cut 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its workforce; examine the company’s growth in the Seattle region as an emblem of Silicon Valley’s global ambitions; and consider the new realities for popular tech business models amid the economic downturn. Read more and listen here.

Related: Meta layoffs ripple through Seattle region, taking some of the luster from 'Silicon Valley North'

Catch up on this week's other top stories:

• Redfin layoffs: The Seattle real estate giant cut 13% of its workforce and its CEO said the slumping housing market “could get worse.”

• Approval voting: Seattleites overwhelmingly rejected an initiative to implement a new voting system that had support from tech leaders. 

• Art auction record: The sale of the private art collection of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen reeled in more than $1.5 billion.

• ‘Homelessness’ billboards: We got the backstory on those giant orange and white signs in Seattle. 

• Inside the Seattle Auto Show: Electric vehicles are once again the talk of the annual event, taking place this weekend in Seattle.