Economics

In Boom-and-Bust San Francisco, Pandemic Brings Grim New Reality

  • Rise of remote work, layoffs threaten tech-fueled economy
  • Budget gap may reach $3.6 billion over next four years
Light traffic moves across the Bay Bridge heading into San Francisco.Photographer: Michael Short/Bloomberg
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Uber, Lyft and Airbnb have slashed thousands of jobs. Salesforce and Visa are letting employees work remotely for months; Twitter and Square are allowing them to do so for good.

For the companies’ hometown of San Francisco, the moves are early signs of a dire blow.