Snap demands employees work in office 80% of the time starting early next year

By Catherine Thorbecke, CNN Business

Snapchat’s parent company is asking workers to return to the office 80% of the time, or the equivalent of four days a week, beginning early next year, in the latest sign of tech employees receiving less flexibility nearly three years after the pandemic took hold and amid a wave of industry cost cutting.

“After working remotely for so long we’re excited to get everyone back together next year with our new 80/20 hybrid model,” a spokesperson for Snap confirmed to CNN in a statement Tuesday. “We believe that being together in person, while retaining flexibility for our team members, will enhance our ability to deliver on our strategic priorities of growing our community, driving revenue growth, and leading in [augmented reality].”

The new policy will take effect at the end of February.

News of Snap’s stricter in-office policy was first reported by Bloomberg, which cited an internal memo from CEO Evan Spiegel telling employees they may have to “sacrifice” some amount of “individual convenience” but it will benefit “our collective success.”

Silicon Valley companies, known for their perk-filled campuses, were among the first to go remote in the early days of the pandemic. More recently, however, some have attempted to mandate workers spend more time in the office. Apple, for example, has called for its corporate workers to be in the office at least three days a week, sparking tensions with some of its staffers. But workers may have less leverage to push back amid a growing number of mass layoffs.

In late August, Snap announced plans to lay off some 20% of its global employees, or more than 1,200 staffers. A number of other tech companies have since followed suit. Meta, Twitter and Amazon have all cut staff recently, while others like Apple are rethinking their pace of hiring.

After billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter closed, he quickly fired some 50% of the social platform’s staff and reversed course on the company’s flexible remote-work policy.

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