In brief: Google is following Amazon’s hardline approach for workers who refuse to come back to the office. The company is demanding that some of its full-time remote employees return to their closest office locations for at least three days per week or face losing their jobs.

Google was one of the companies who decided to play it safe when it came to bringing workers back following the pandemic. It introduced hybrid work models in April 2022, though managers were able to approve fully remote exceptions.

Google started tightening the leash in June 2023, when it began tracking hybrid employees‘ office badges to find out if they come in on the days they’re supposed to. These office attendance records are recorded for performance reviews. Google also asked fully remote staff to consider coming back three days each week.

2023 was also the year that Google’s HR told managers to review long-term remote arrangements and require some people to move closer to an office or convert to hybrid. More changes came last year when Google decided to approve remote requests only in “exceptional” cases.

Now, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC, Google is pushing many remote staffers to switch to hybrid or face the consequences. Employees in Google Technical Services have been told to either come in at least three days per week or take a voluntary exit package. Remote employees in the unit are also being offered a one-time relocation expense to move within 50 miles of an office.

Moreover, remote employees in Google’s People Operations division who live within 50 miles of an office must switch to hybrid work this month or their roles will be eliminated.

Earlier this year, Google offered voluntary exit packages for employees working in the Platforms and Devices group, which includes the Pixel and Android teams that had just merged. The offer was extended to full-time employees in its People Operations division in March.

Sergey Brin, the billionaire who co-founded Google with Larry Page in 1998 and is now assisting with its AI efforts, recently said that 60-hour in-office weeks were crucial for Google to come out on top in the ultra-competitive AI industry.

In a Stanford talk posted today, Eric Schmidt says the reason why Google is losing to @OpenAI and other startups is because Google only has people coming in 1 day per week pic.twitter.com/XPxr3kdNaC

– Alex Kehr (@alexkehr) August 13, 2024

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt also made his feelings on remote work clear in 2024. He said that “Google decided that work-life balance and going home early, and working from home, was more important than winning.” He later partially backtracked following an outcry over his comments.