General Motors Co. has informed its white-collar workforce they have to return three days a week to the office starting at the end of January.
Specific details of how they return will be worked out between leaders and their teams.
The move comes after backlash from workers when an abrupt alert was sent out on a Friday afternoon last month telling employees they would be required to go back to the office later this year after more than two years of remote work during the pandemic. The employee reaction led GM to push back the return until next year, without specifying a date.
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Employees affected by the change were upset because the move went against a previously introduced a “Work Appropriately” model that gave teams the flexibility to work from home, a lab, an office or wherever they can do their best work. GM noted that the model was not a “policy” when it was implemented.
“After engaging with teams and listening to feedback, GM leaders are in the process of sharing the next steps of our Work Appropriately evolution with employees as we create a flexible model with a more regular in-person cadence across the company,” GM spokesperson Maria Raynal said in a statement on Friday.
The Detroit automaker and other companies have used the flexibility of remote work to hire outside of Michigan and allow employees to work where they live. The employees that GM hired or designated remote will stay remote, the company previously said.
GM has a goal to be “the most inclusive company in the world” and promotes the “Work Appropriately” model as “a philosophy that enables us to achieve these aspirations.”
The Detroit Free Press reported on the date for return earlier Friday.
khall@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @bykaleahall