COMP NEWS – Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company once famous for letting its employees leave work early to surf, has given its remote workers three days to choose whether to return to office work or lose their jobs.
Patagonia asked 90 remote workers to either move closer to the outdoor clothing company’s seven hubs or leave the company.
Business Insider reported earlier this week the 90 customer service employees have been asked to pack their bags and find a new place to live no further than 60 miles from Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Reno or Salt Lake City.
Patagonia wanted a verdict from each of those workers by Friday, three days after it announced it would be completely moving to a “hub” model for the customer service team.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Patagonia has allowed roughly 250 people in its customer service department to work from home. Now, it wants most of them back.
The 250-person customer experience team began working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic and is Patagonia’s only fully virtual team, he said.
Huggins said “most” of the team members already live near Reno.
Patagonia will work with employees who tell the company they need more time to decide about relocation, according to the company spokesperson.
The relocation deadline for those agreeing to move is Sept. 30, Business Insider reported. Patagonia is offering a $4,000 stipend to those who move.
To read about Patagonia’s return-to-office mandate, click here.
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