> Its got the whiff of conspiracy theory to me in that it provides a simple answer to a complex question by having two faceless entities colluding with each oth

> Its got the whiff of conspiracy theory to me in that it provides a simple answer to a complex question by having two faceless entities colluding with each other for unknown reasons. There's no need for a "conspiracy theory" to explain it. The better way to look at it is: Some VP at Dell leased X million sqft of office space on a long term lease that does not expire until the year 2030 (thereby getting a good deal and locking in a lower rent until that time) sometime before the pandemic flipped things to "WFH". Now, post pandemic, with most employees in WFH status, Dell, the company, is paying $Y million/month for X million sqft of office space, which is going unused -- and they can't get out of their 2030 leases early without taking an even bigger loss. So from Dell executive's viewpoint's, this is office rent going to waste, so if it is going to be paid for anyway, we might as well force employees back to the office so we don't have to report the rental costs as pure losses on our quarterly reports to the SEC.