Instead of investing in party hats and streamers, telecommunications giant AT&T is welcoming the new year with a mandatory five-day return to the office – much to the disdain of its workforce.

For many AT&T staffers, this policy change will force them to relocate or quit, as the Dallas-based company has closed down over 300 offices since the start of the pandemic.

While company spokespeople claim office spaces are equipped to deal with the increased foot traffic, employees fear the policy is another covert attempt to “slim the herd” by forcing workers out without needing to cover the cost of severance packages. With a slew of other tech companies being accused of similar actions, here’s everything we know about AT&T’s crackdown on remote work.

AT&T Ditches Hybrid Work For a Full Office Return

Only a year after AT&T doubled down on its hybrid work policy, the telecommunications company confirmed it will be demanding workers to come back in the office full time, starting from January 2025.

The company will be calling workers back into nine core office locations in cities like Los Angeles, San Ramon, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington with its main hubs being in Atlanta and Dallas.

With a sizeable chunk of AT&T’s workforce getting used to more flexible working schedules and less painful commutes, traveling to an office each day and clocking in a full eight hours might be a shock to the system. However, AT&T attests that most employees are already used to working on-location full-time, making the transition fairly straightforward.

“The majority of our employees and leaders never stopped working on location for the full work week — including during the pandemic,” – An AT&T Spokesperson

While this policy applies to all US domestic workers, contractors, and international workers are exempt from changes. Rumors about the new policy started circulating on employee forums like The Layoff as early as October when some AT&T staffers posted that they were being brought back to the office immediately, while others commented that they had until the new year.

According to an anonymous The Layoff user, the change was implemented because AT&T CEO John Stankey “has data that now all employees work a 40-hour week”, however, this statement hasn’t been confirmed by the company.

The Dial Is Moving On Flexible Work, But Are Offices Ready To Be At Capacity?

Before the pandemic, AT&T used to be home to over 350 office hubs across all 5o states. While the company has since downsized its workforce in multiple rounds of layoffs, its reduced office capacity is still leaving many employees scratching their heads about how this full-time return will work.

“As we continue to evolve our model, we are enhancing our facilities and workspaces, adapting our benefits programs, and incorporating best practices to ensure our employees are best equipped to serve our customers,” – An AT&T Spokesperson

AT&T told Business Insider that it would be updating its facilities to support the new policy. However, with companies like Amazon being forced to delay their 5-day RTO mandate for some employees due to workspace shortages, it’s clear that even major companies can miscalculate the amount of office space needed to meet demands.

Is AT&T’s RTO Mandate Really a ‘Layoff In Sheep’s Clothing’?

AT&T employees don’t seem very happy about this mandatory office return, especially those who would have to relocate in order to keep their jobs at the company. What’s more, some more skeptical employees think AT&T’s recent policy switch is being used as a covert way to trim headcount.

Company employees have been turning to Reddit to discuss this theory, with the user josephson93 posting “AT&T obviously hoping for a lot of people to quit”, and user tubezninja agreeing by commenting “Yup, this is the cheapest way to reduce headcount without actually laying people off.”.

This isn’t the first time the world’s third-largest telecommunications company has been met with this criticism. In June 2023 the company was accused of carrying out a “layoff in wolf’s clothing” after it told 60,000 managers they had to return the office from July. The policy was muddied by the fact that managers had to return to one of the company’s nine hub locations, meaning that if they didn’t happen to live near one they would have to relocate – or quit.

As companies continue to grapple with economic pressures in 2024, AT&T isn’t the only major tech company that’s been accused of deploying this tactic. Hardware manufacturer Dell recently landed itself in hot water after a leaked company memo revealed that its RTO crackdown was indeed intended to “thin the herd” by getting remote workers to quit.

Similar actions are even being considered in the most powerful offices in the country, with co-leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy both suggesting that mandatory RTO measures could be an effective way to cut headcounts and as a result, federal spending.

These measures are pretty cut-throat. But rest assured, not all executives are so quick to turn on the lifeblood of their company. If you fear your employer might be trying to squeeze you out with a strict 5-day return to the office, it might be worth securing your future with a company that lets you work from anywhere.