Some Ford employees say they've been warned they could be fired for not going back to the office, report says | Fortune

"Ford Motor Co. is cracking down on remote work, with some white-collar employees saying they've been warned their jobs could come to a screeching halt if they don't start showing up to the office. The Detroit automaker informed salaried staff in June that starting September 1, most would need to be in the office four days a week, an escalation from the three-day work weeks most people worked, according to ."

"Since then, employees say Ford has begun sending automated attendance warnings based on badge-swipe data, flagging those not meeting the new requirements, according to Business Insider. Three current and former employees told the business news website that the emails threatened "discipline up to and including termination." Two said they received those notices even though their in-office schedules had been cleared with managers under previous flexible arrangements."

"In a companywide meeting on September 9, Homer Isaac, Ford's human-resources director for enterprise technology, said the messages were intended to "change behavior" around remote work, according to a recording reviewed by BI. He acknowledged that the system had mistakenly targeted some compliant employees, saying those following the four-day rule "shouldn't be worried." Most corporate divisions have been phasing up their in-person expectations - enterprise tech, for example, went from 13 in-office days per quarter to three days per week in August, and now four."

Ford Motor Co. set a new expectation requiring most salaried employees to work in the office four days a week beginning September 1, up from three days. The company implemented automated attendance warnings using badge-swipe data to flag employees not meeting the requirement, and some warnings warned of "discipline up to and including termination." Human-resources director Homer Isaac said the messages were meant to "change behavior" and acknowledged some compliant employees were mistakenly flagged. Corporate divisions have been increasing in-office days, such as enterprise tech moving from 13 in-office days per quarter to three, and now four per week. The shift caused parking shortages, overcrowded workspaces, and cross-time-zone collaboration challenges.

Read at Fortune