I don't quite think this falls into the fallacy part, though it's definitely a sunk cost. If companies don't have any financially viable ways to offload the re

I don't quite think this falls into the fallacy part, though it's definitely a sunk cost. If companies don't have any financially viable ways to offload the real estate costs they have to weigh the pros and cons. Remote work comes with its own expenses, from software licenses only needed for remote teams to home office stipends and team off sites. None of these are required obviously, but expected by most remote workers in large tech companies. I expect it turns into a bit of an actuarial process, trying to estimate how many quality employees you will lose versus the additional expense and potential inefficiencies of remote. Theres also the fact that this is a perfect excuse to cut a number of employees without officially doing layoffs. If you over hired for a few years while the money rolled in you might be happy for an excuse to see people leave.