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Several Google divisions have warned employees working remotely that they may be fired if they do not show up in the nearest office at least 3 times a week.
5 years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google began to require some of its remote workers to return to the offices. In early 2025, Google began offering compensation to a number of full-time employees, and some remote workers were told that they would be fired if they did not report to the office at least 3 times a week.
Google and other tech giants seek to reduce costs and at the same time increase investments in the development of artificial intelligence systems, which requires significant investments in infrastructure and specialists. Following a series of large-scale layoffs in early 2023, Google has concentrated the freed-up financial resources to increase investments in artificial intelligence.
As of the end of 2024, Google employed 183 thousand people, compared to 190 thousand two years ago. According to the company’s co-founder Sergey Brin, IT employees should work in the office on weekdays, and 60 working hours per week is the golden mean of productivity.
«As we have said before, face-to-face collaboration is an important part of how we innovate and solve complex problems In support of this, some teams have asked remote employees who live near the office to return to work in person three days a week», — said a Google spokesperson Courtney Mencini.
In particular, employees of the Google Technical Services department were informed that they have switch to a hybrid work schedule or receive a severance package in case of dismissal. Remote employees in the division are offered a one-time paid amount for relocation within 50 miles of the office.
Remote workers from Google People Operations have to switch to hybrid work by the end of this month, or they will be fired. Employees in this division, who were allowed to continue working remotely and who live more than 50 miles from the office, can keep their current contracts, but will have to switch to a hybrid basis if they want to get new positions in the company.
Google has already offered voluntary resignations to its full-time HR staff in the United States, in the Platforms and Devices group, which includes Android, Chrome, and products such as Fitbit and Nest As of this month, the unit has made redundancies in almost two dozen teams.
Source: CNBC