Prominent Apple staffers write letters to management, resign over office return

At least one prominent resignation has taken place over the issue of Apple workers returning to the office, as the company faces continued resistance from an organized group of employees.

Ian Goodfellow, a director of machine learning at Apple, is leaving the company. The return-to-office plan was a reason for his departure.

The current policy occasionally varies by team and role, but generally, Apple has already asked employees to visit the office for one or two days a week. On May 23, many of Apple's employees will be required to go to the office at least three days per week.

Some employees are not happy with the gradual return to the office. The group recently published an open letter directed at the company's executive leadership.

Apple Together lists a number of reasons why Apple's return to the office doesn't make sense. The group tries to debunk the idea that being in the office together can lead to serendipitous moments of collaboration and creation. The group says that working from home is more manageable than in the office because the company is already divided.

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The Bay Area, Los Angeles, or Austin, Texas, have Apple offices, which have an effect on employees' personal lives, energy, and availability at work. The group points out that requiring employees to live in a certain area limits what kinds of employees join the company.

The letter ends by naming the most important reason Apple should allow more flexible working arrangements. It points out that Apple encourages its employees to return to the office with the products they design, even though the products are ideal for remote work.

The letter suggests that Apple's marketing is hypocritical because employees who work on making these products will understand customers better if they are living the same work lifestyle.

While Apple is moving employees back to an in-office culture, it is using remote collaboration tools effectively where it has no other choice.

An article in the Wall Street Journal about how the COVID-19 epidemic has changed Apple's operations in China outlines how the company has used technologies like video calls and augmented reality to enable California-based engineers to collaborate with colleagues in China despite travel restrictions. International travel to meet in person is no longer required for many of these interactions.

Several tech companies have taken a more relaxed approach to remote work. Microsoft encourages some employees to come to the office, but it varies on a case-by-case basis. Most employees may remain fully remote indefinitely if they choose to.

Apple plans to update its policy on May 23.