Facebook Inc. will permanently embrace remote work even after coronavirus lockdowns ease, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday, accelerating the tech sector's geographic diversification away from its home in Silicon Valley.

Zuckerberg said the world's largest social network would start "aggressively opening up remote hiring" in July, expecting that about half its workforce would eventually do their jobs outside Facebook's offices over the next five to 10 years.

The company would take a more "measured approach" with existing employees based on job function and past performance, he said, and set a January 1, 2021 deadline for staff to update the company on their new locations for tax purposes.