International Business Machines Corp. issued a companywide ultimatum to managers still working remotely: Move closer to the office, or leave the company.

All U.S. managers must immediately report to an office or client site at least three days a week, “regardless of the status of the current work location,” according to a memo sent on Jan. 16 and seen by Bloomberg. Senior Vice President John Granger wrote in the report that badge data will be used to “evaluate an individual’s presence” and shared with managers and human resources.

The memo said that except for employees with special circumstances such as medical issues or military service, those working remotely must move to a location near an IBM office by early August. That usually means within 50 miles (80 kilometers), said a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to company policy.

Granger wrote that managers who disagree with the transfer and cannot get approval for a remote position must “separate themselves from IBM.”

“IBM is committed to providing a work environment that balances flexibility with face-to-face interaction, allowing us to be more productive, more innovative and better able to serve our clients,” a company spokesperson said. “Consistent with this approach, we ask U.S. executives and functional managers are in the office at least three days a week.”

CEO Arvind Krishna has long preached the importance of in-person work. Krishna said in a May 2023 interview with Bloomberg that there would be fewer opportunities for advancement for those who are not on the ground. Some teams within IBM already have office attendance requirements in place. A November memo asked employees in the infrastructure business unit to come to company offices at least three days a week, with “managers and executives expected to be present more frequently.”

In recent years, IBM has streamlined its business to focus on software and services, launching new products to capitalize on interest in artificial intelligence and spinning off managed infrastructure, weather and health businesses. Last week, executives gave a positive outlook for fourth-quarter 2024 earnings, pushing shares to their best performance in nearly four years.

Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh said last week that Big Blue expects to cut jobs this year and that its restructuring spending will be comparable to the 3,900 planned layoffs last year. Return-to-office mandates are often thought to exacerbate attrition. As of the end of 2022, IBM had approximately 288,000 employees worldwide.

The company has closed several offices since the outbreak began, which could complicate plans to return employees to the office, including facilities in Philadelphia, central New York, Southbury, Conn., and Iowa . Kavanaugh said on an earnings call last week that reducing the real estate footprint is part of IBM’s continued efforts to expand margins. It’s unclear how many managers will need to be moved under the new rules.

Over the last year, many companies have increased requirements for returning to the office, replacing employee-friendly incentives such as happy hours and commuter subsidies with more punitive measures that include disciplinary action or limits on career advancement when attendance goals are not met. As markets deteriorate, rules in the tech sector in particular have tightened, and the risk of layoffs has tipped the scales in favor of employers. Amazon.com Inc. and AT&T Inc. have both ordered some remote workers to move closer to their offices.

Despite the new rules, office attendance remains fairly stagnant in 2023, according to data from Kastle Systems. In the 10 largest business districts in the United States, the number of office workers hovers around 50% of pre-pandemic levels, and the ratio is even lower in tech-heavy areas such as the San Francisco Bay Area.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)