By David Shepardson
General Motors Co will launch its return-to-work plan for most salaried workers early next year after it faced employee criticism over an earlier planned start date, the largest U.S. automaker said on Monday.
GM said the shift will help achieve company goals as it accelerates its transformation and enters a “rapid launch cycle” of new electric vehicle models.
Last month, GM said it would not mandate that workers return to offices before 2023, just days after it told them that they would be expected to work three days on-campus each week before the end of the year.
GM will ask salaried workers on hybrid work schedules to return to offices starting Jan. 30, a source told Reuters, adding that it will result in an average of three days per week in office for hybrid employees.
The automaker has 53,000 U.S. salaried employees. The company said that after the change in January, the vast majority of those workers will be in the office at least part of the time.
GM said last month its revised timetable was based on discussions with employees and told workers in an email it would “listen to your feedback so that we incorporate it into our implementation plans.”
Tens of thousands of GM workers, including hourly workers assembling vehicles and components, have continued in-person work during COVID-19.
GM has hired many workers over the last two years who are not based in the Detroit area. The automaker said Monday the return-to-work policy does affect “employees whose roles are fully onsite or designated as remote.”
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Wall Street suspects both companies could fall short of their 2022 profit forecasts, or underperform next year, with consumer demand dented by rising U.S. interest rates, higher oil prices and economic slowdowns in the United States, Europe and China.