Google Return To Office
Google is telling some of its employees who work from home that they might lose their jobs if they don’t come back to the office. This change shows that many tech companies are starting to want people to work together in person again, now that the pandemic is less of a problem. For Google, it’s also a way to save money.
Some parts of Google have told their employees who work remotely that they now need to come into the office some days. If they don’t want to do that, they can choose to leave the company. For some people who are willing to move closer to an office – within about an hour’s drive – Google is even offering help with their move.
Google is making these changes because they want to spend less money in some areas so they can invest more in things like AI technology and the people who work on it. They’ve already cut some jobs since their big layoffs last year. Earlier this year, in 2025, Google also offered some of their workers in the US a chance to leave voluntarily with a payment.
Someone who speaks for Google, Courtenay Mencini, told the news people that each different work group at Google is deciding this, not the whole company with one rule. She said that when people work together in the office, it really helps them think of new things and solve hard problems.
One of the main groups this is hitting is the People Operations team – that’s like Google’s HR department. If those employees live within about an hour’s drive of a Google office, they have to start working some days in the office by June, or they could lose their jobs. Also, people in the Google Technical Services group are being told they need to move closer to an office or leave the company.
Even though Google says that letting people work from home wasn’t the main reason for all the recent job losses, one of the people who started Google, Sergey Brin, has made it clear what he thinks. In a message to the people working on AI in February, he told them they should come back to the office all the time. He even said that working 60 hours a week is the best way to get a lot done.
This push to get people back in the office shows that things are changing at Google. It’s not just about where people work anymore. Google is now more focused on AI and feels a greater need to get things done quickly, so they’re not being as flexible about remote work as they were during the pandemic.