Several units of Google remote workers were recently told their jobs may be at risk if they do not return to the nearest office to work there three days a week, CNBC reported.
Some of those employees had previously been given the greenlight to work remotely.
Google has offered buyouts and promoted 60-hour workweeks
At the start of 2025, Google began offering some full-time US employees voluntary buyout packages, and some remote staffers were informed this would be their only option if they didn’t return to the office nearest to them at least three days a week.
In February, Google co-founder Sergey Brin told AI staffers they needed to return to the office every weekday, and that 60 hours a week is “the sweet spot of productivity.” Brin wrote in his memo that the company needed to “turbocharge” efforts to keep up with AI competition, which “has accelerated immensely.”
Since instituting widespread layoffs in early 2023, Google has made targeted cuts across various business units and focused on the importance of increased AI investments. As of the end of 2024, Google had about 183,000 employees, down from roughly 190,000 two years earlier, according to company filings.
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RTO trend among other tech companies
About 32% of US companies now require full-time in office for corporate employees, according to the Flex Index Q4 report, which analyzes the state of flexible work.
The pressure to return to offices marks a relatively new phase for many tech companies navigating post-pandemic realities. While looking for cost-cutting measures, many tech giants are also making huge investments in AI and infrastructure.
Tech companies that have mandated some form of return to the office, as reported by Axios, include:
- Amazon: Five days a week at the start of 2025.
- Apple: Three days a week in 2022.
- Dell: Five days a week in September 2024.
- IBM: Three days a week for managers in early 2024.
- Meta: Three days a week in 2023.
- Salesforce: Four days a week in October 2024.
- Zoom: A “structured hybrid approach” in 2023.
- X: Ended remote work in 2022 when Elon Musk acquired Twitter. It was the first tech company to enforce RTO.