Snap requires employees to work in the office 80% of the time starting early next year | CNN Business

CNN Business
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Snapchat’s parent company is asking workers to return to the office 80% of the time, or the equivalent of four days a week, by early next year, in the latest sign tech employees are getting 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 bring everyone together next year with our new 80/20 hybrid model,” a Snap ( SNAP ) spokesperson confirmed to CNN in a statement Tuesday. “We believe that being together in person, while retaining the flexibility of our team members, will enhance our ability to deliver on our strategic priorities of growing our community, driving revenue growth and leading [augmented reality]”.

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

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

Silicon Valley companies, known for their perks-filled campuses, were among the first to go remote in the early days of the pandemic. More recently, however, some have tried to force workers to spend more time in the office. Apple, for example, has required its corporate workers to be in the office at least three days a week, causing tensions with some of its employees. 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 20% of its global workforce, or more than 1,200 employees. Since then, several tech companies have followed suit. Meta, Twitter and Amazon have cut staff recently, while others like Apple ( AAPL ) are rethinking their hiring pace.

After billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter ( TWTR ) closed, he quickly laid off about 50% of the social platform’s staff and reversed course on the company’s flexible remote work policy.