Yes, in the 80s, companies built out in the suburbs/exurbs in part because it was cheaper. But they also built out there because relatively few of their potential employees had much interest in living in the city.

I worked for one of those suburban computer companies in the 80s/90s and almost no one I knew commuted out from the city even though many people I worked with had equally long commutes (45 minutes to an hour) in other directions.