Facebook announced in May that up to half its workforce is likely to be working from home within the next five to 10 years. There is one caveat: staff salaries could be adjusted to align with the cost of living in their chosen location, meaning potential pay cuts for those considering moving away from its expensive Palo Alto base and other global hubs.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told staff via video that the change will come into effect from January. “We’ll adjust salary to your location at that point?.?.?.?There’ll be severe ramifications for people who are not honest about this,” he added.

Workplace messaging company Slack has announced a similar move, while fellow California-based Twitter and mobile payments company Square are yet to confirm whether they will follow Facebook’s lead — but has the social media platform set a wider precedent for the sector as companies look to cut costs?