My guess is that in some cases, this sort of policy is actually a form of layoffs where they want to reduce costs through lower headcount without calling it a l

My guess is that in some cases, this sort of policy is actually a form of layoffs where they want to reduce costs through lower headcount without calling it a layoff. They know some sizable chunk of employees will balk and find another remote job if forced to return to the office. Instead of the company picking who gets laid off, the employees pick themselves. There are definitely some downsides to such a policy, especially in that you can't control who leaves. You could lose some top performers this way. But it would still accomplish lowering costs while sidestepping much of the bad press of being forced to lower costs through a layoff.