GM calls salaried workers back to office 3 days a week

DETROIT — General Motors on Friday said all employees who have been working remotely must report to an office at least three days a week starting later this year, modifying the flexible and intentionally vague "Work Appropriately" approach it adopted during the pandemic.

In an internal message to affected employees, GM said it's making the change because "the COVID-19 situation has dramatically improved" and to encourage more collaboration as the automaker transforms its business in the years ahead. A GM spokeswoman confirmed the authenticity of the message obtained by Automotive News and provided a statement explaining the change.

"We're committed to maintaining flexibility to ensure our employees can attend to personal commitments, and we will share details with them in the coming weeks," the statement said.

The message to employees was attributed to "the senior leadership team," listing CEO Mary Barra, President Mark Reuss and 12 other top executives. It did not give a specific date for when the changes would take effect.

"Over time, we have lost some of the important, intangible benefits of regularly working together in-person including, casual mentoring, more efficient communication and bringing an enterprising mindset to work," the message said. "We are entering a rapid launch cycle that, quite frankly, will define our future trajectory, and we need to drive change with speed — individually and collectively — so we can achieve our goals.

"We firmly believe that our culture — the culture you have worked so hard to create — is a competitive advantage, and we absolutely must preserve that. To do our best work and have the greatest impact, we will pivot to a more regular in-person work cycle."