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It's an interesting question when there's a change in ownership. I certainly feel for the employees who uprooted themselves based on a promise. But if a new CEO

It's an interesting question when there's a change in ownership. I certainly feel for the employees who uprooted themselves based on a promise. But if a new CEO comes in (or if the company is acquired and there's an entirely new board), are they bound by the promises of the previous executives? Surely the should not go against these promises lightly, but they may be faced with existential challenges that ultimately force them to. And of course some companies will just be jerks and pull the rug out based on non-existential challenges. Employees need to take this into account when they are made "promises" by their employer, and take them with a grain of salt.

mytailorisrich 3y ago
Relations between employees and company are based on contracts and labour laws. Change of company ownership or executives has no bearing on that. It therefore varies by jurisdiction but in general companies have been very careful to word WFH policies so that they are discretionary and not a change of T&Cs because they did not want to make employees contractually remote. Here the article suggests that employees were told then would become remote, which may very well mean that they de facto changed the employment contracts and cannot now change them back unilaterally. I suspect lawyers and courts will soon be involved to settle the question...
- gnicholas 3y ago
  In the US, many/most jurisdictions have at-will employment. That means that the company has very broad latitude to change the terms of employment (and terminate employees who aren't on board), just like employees can quit at the drop of a hat. There are much broader protections in other countries.
  - mytailorisrich 3y ago
    Yes. That does not mean that terms may be changed unilaterally (your question) but that the bargaining power is such that the employee may be in a weak "take it or leave it" position anyway. In that case ultimately it is for both sides to decide based on how easy it is to find a new job/replace employee.
manuelabeledo 3y ago
> But if a new CEO comes in (or if the company is acquired and there's an entirely new board), are they bound by the promises of the previous executives? They may be not, it ultimately depends on the context, but I would call into question any highly disruptive decision made by a recent newcomer.

mytailorisrich 3y ago

Relations between employees and company are based on contracts and labour laws. Change of company ownership or executives has no bearing on that. It therefore varies by jurisdiction but in general companies have been very careful to word WFH policies so that they are discretionary and not a change of T&Cs because they did not want to make employees contractually remote. Here the article suggests that employees were told then would become remote, which may very well mean that they de facto changed the employment contracts and cannot now change them back unilaterally. I suspect lawyers and courts will soon be involved to settle the question...

gnicholas 3y ago
In the US, many/most jurisdictions have at-will employment. That means that the company has very broad latitude to change the terms of employment (and terminate employees who aren't on board), just like employees can quit at the drop of a hat. There are much broader protections in other countries.
- mytailorisrich 3y ago
  Yes. That does not mean that terms may be changed unilaterally (your question) but that the bargaining power is such that the employee may be in a weak "take it or leave it" position anyway. In that case ultimately it is for both sides to decide based on how easy it is to find a new job/replace employee.

manuelabeledo 3y ago

> But if a new CEO comes in (or if the company is acquired and there's an entirely new board), are they bound by the promises of the previous executives? They may be not, it ultimately depends on the context, but I would call into question any highly disruptive decision made by a recent newcomer.