Google orders remote workers back to office or face termination
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — Tech giant Google is telling some remote employees to return to the office at least three days a week — or risk losing their jobs.
Multiple teams across the company, including Technical Services and People Operations, have recently issued internal notices requiring employees to switch to a hybrid work schedule or accept voluntary exit packages.
While Google previously allowed certain roles to remain remote, the shift reflects a broader retrenchment from pandemic-era flexibility. Employees living within 50 miles of a Google office are now being told to show up in person or relocate — with limited support — or else face job elimination.
“As we’ve said before, in-person collaboration is an important part of how we innovate and solve complex problems,” Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini told CNBC.
“To support this, some teams have asked remote employees that live near an office to return to in-person work three days a week.”
AI spending fuels cuts elsewhere
The change comes amid ongoing efforts at Google to cut costs while investing heavily in artificial intelligence. After mass layoffs in 2023, the company has continued trimming staff across various departments, including its Android and hardware units, which merged last year under SVP Rick Osterloh.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has urged AI teams to work in-office full time, saying in a February memo that “60 hours a week” is the productivity “sweet spot.” He cited the need to “turbocharge” innovation as AI competition intensifies.
The firm ended 2024 with 183,000 employees, down from nearly 190,000 two years earlier. While Google insists these latest changes are team-specific, they align with a broader corporate trend of reducing remote work privileges in favor of tighter workforce integration.
Voluntary exits, relocation offers
Some employees in People Operations were informed that their remote roles would be cut by June unless they began reporting to an office part-time. Those outside the 50-mile radius may remain remote but cannot qualify for new internal roles without relocating.
Affected staff have been offered one-time relocation stipends, while others — including those in Android, Chrome, and Nest divisions — were previously encouraged to consider voluntary exit packages. Google says it continues hiring in these groups but aims to operate with more efficiency.
In October 2024, Google reassured its employees that it does not plan to mandate a five-day in-office return following Amazon’s controversial decision to require full-time office attendance for its corporate workforce.
Meanwhile, another tech giant, IBM, recently issued a directive requiring its United States sales staff to work at least three days a week from client sites, flagship offices, or designated sales hubs.
