San Francisco Mayor Breed says city faces remote work challenge as tech workers leave town or stay home

London Breed, the mayor of San Francisco, said that the city will have to adjust to the fact that many workers aren't coming back to work.

In an interview airing Friday evening on CNBC, Breed acknowledged that tech workers have been slower to return to physical space in San Francisco than in other major cities.

This isn't an exodus. Breed called it a change. There has been a global Pandemic. There have been people working from home. Most employees would like to work from home when they return to the office. Employers are giving that as an option.

The office vacancies in San Francisco increased to 24.2% in the second quarter from 23.8% in the first. One-third of San Francisco's workforce is now remote, according to Breed's office. The $400 million hit to tax revenue was caused by that.

Breed said, "Of course I'm worried about the trend, but again, you know, this was a globalPonzi where life has changed."

Tech companies have moved out of California to other states. Others have closed their offices to make way for a hybrid future. San Francisco's largest private employer said this week that it is cutting its office space in San Francisco for the third time during the Pandemic and is now listing 40% of a 43-story building that is across the street from its main tower.

Not all tech employers are cutting back. Breed said that she works from her office five days a week.

Breed said that some companies have committed to San Francisco as their headquarters. She said that San Francisco has the highest concentration of venture capitalists in the country.

Breed said there has been an increase in foot traffic in the downtown area. She mentioned the recent Golden State Warriors championship parade, which drew an estimated 800,000-plus people to the city.

Breed proposed a 14 billion dollar budget last month. The Municipal Transportation Agency has over a third of that money set aside.

Breed said that San Francisco will thrive if it makes adjustments. A lot of the things that people would want to visit a major city for is what we have to also focus on, and working in the office is just going to be an adjustment to change.

There is a video about living in San Francisco.