International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) has informed thousands of its employees to stop working from home and come back into offices.
About 40% of the technology giant’s 400,000 workers worldwide work from home or small remote offices.
The policy change, reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal, was announced the last week. It will be rolled out to IBM’s different divisions including Watson, software development, digital marketing, and design.
IBM was one of the first companies to adopt the work-from-home culture.
The policy change will improve collaboration and speed up the pace of work, according to the technology giant. IBM did not disclose how many employees will be affected by the policy change but noted that some employees will be able to work remotely.
“In many fields, such as software development and digital marketing, the nature of work is changing, which requires new ways of working,” International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) said in a statement. “We are bringing small, self-directed agile teams in these fields together.”
According to IBM, a majority of workers who from home have agreed to start working from offices. However, the technology giant noted that some employees who aren’t willing to work in offices could lose their jobs.
Shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) were closed up 0.77% on Friday. The company’s stock is down over 8% so far this year.