IBM gives employees a rude awakening with harsh new policy

IBM (IBM) , a global tech leader with over 270,000 employees worldwide, is officially joining a controversial trend in corporate America.

Many companies, such as Amazon, Dell, and JPMorgan Chase, have recently cracked down on remote work and ordered their employees to work in the office five days a week.

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While companies claimed that in-person work is more beneficial for collaboration and innovation in the workplace, these efforts did, however, spark pushback from employees.

Related: Dell CEO sends a stern wake-up call to employees

Amazon saw an exodus of employees shortly after its new in-office mandate was announced last year. JPMorgan Chase was hit with an online petition from a group of its workers that demanded the company continue its hybrid work policy.

IBM sends a stern warning to employees

Now, IBM, which is headed by Arvind Krishna, has reportedly decided to enter the murky waters of scaling back remote work. 

IBM Americas General Manager Adam Lawrence recently sent a memo to its U.S. sales employees warning them of the company’s new “return to client initiative,” according to a recent report from The Register.

The initiative will require employees “to work at least three days a week from the client location where their assigned territory decision-makers work, a flagship office, or a sales hub.”

An IBM office building. 

Image source: Shutterstock

Employees who live more than 50 miles from their assigned office location will be given relocation benefits to move. Digital Sales workers based in Dallas, Texas, will be moved to a new location in Austin, Texas, in 2026.

IBM currently has five flagship offices in California, New York, Texas, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C.

It also has eight sales hubs located in Texas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio, North Carolina, Washington, Chicago, and California.

In the memo, Lawrence flagged how “remarkable it is when our teams work side by side” at IBM’s Manhattan, New York, flagship office, which was unveiled in September last year.

Related: Amazon CEO gives hard-nosed message to employees

He said IBM’s new “return to client initiative” will apply to sales workers associated with US Enterprise, Horizon, and Strategic clients’ sites.

The initiative will not apply to employees who serve US National market territories, Canada, Latin America, US Federal markets, Web Methods, Technology Expert Labs Delivery, and Software Migration Project Office sellers.

The move from IBM comes after it informed its U.S. cloud employees earlier this month that they will be expected to work from “strategic” locations three days a week. Those employees have been given until July 1 to adhere to the policy, and those who need to relocate were given until Oct. 1.

Multiple current and former IBM employees who spoke to The Register said that the new policy appears to be a layoff in disguise because older workers will be less willing to relocate with their families than “early professional hires.”

IBM’s new policy could have consequences

The move from IBM comes during a time when it is reportedly preparing to lay off 9,000 U.S. employees within the next year as it ramps up hiring in India.

The company’s bold effort to relocate employees could also backfire, as most employees rejected relocation opportunities from their employers in 2024.

More Labor:

Amazon CEO gives employees a harsh wake-up callStarbucks CEO has a tough message for employees after layoffsSnapchat CEO teaches new employees a strict lesson

According to a recent survey from moving company Atlas Van Lines, 58% of companies said that they had an employee decline an opportunity to relocate last year.

The top three reasons employees rejected a move were family issues/obligations, concerns about housing or mortgage at the new location, and concerns about selling or leaving their original home.

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