San Francisco’s detractors and right-wing media are having a meltdown over Whole Foods Market closing on Market Street in the middle of the Tenderloin. It is one of the areas of the cities most impacted by the increase of remote work and exodus of tech amid record layoffs in the tech sector.
Amazon is blaming “employee safety,” but it’s no secret that downtown San Francisco has the highest office vacancy rate right now in the United States of America. It turns out that if you let workers go remote, they will move to cities that have lower rent and less taxes or stop going to the office and wasting money on Uber or transit. Who knew?
The story is eerily similar to when Walgreens blamed San Francisco’s “crime” and “homelessness” for closures. In reality though, Walgreens since 2019 had a “plan to close at least 200 stores across the US as part of a cost-cutting initiative.” It’s convenient for major retailers to shift blame to San Francisco and its “liberal” politicians though. Experts told the San Francisco Chronicle that the closures are part of a long-term plan to focus on e-commerce as Amazon entered the arena.
Beware the gushing headlines that try to call San Francisco “Gotham City” when the reality is much more complex.
Carlos Eats 