AT&T’s Big RTO Mandate Will Require Many to Relocate or Quit

<-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/T%20US%20Equity/FA","_id":"00000188-be98-d4e2-a1cb-fe9cb8340000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">AT&T Inc., the biggest US phone company, has 350 offices spread across all 50 states, and many employees have worked from home since the pandemic started. So it came as a shock when Chief Executive Officer <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://people/profile/5190874","_id":"00000188-be98-d4e2-a1cb-fe9cb8340001","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">John Stankey in May mandated that 60,000 managers <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbDocId":"RUPI1GT1UM0W","_id":"00000188-be98-d4e2-a1cb-fe9cb8340002","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">must report to work in person—but at offices in just nine locations.

Stankey’s demand is a high-stakes game of musical chairs, with team leaders making location assignments to a handful of hubs focused on specific duties. Although the restructuring may yield big savings on real estate and boost collaboration, many employees now facing <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbDocId":"RV49PXT1UM0W","_id":"00000188-be98-d4e2-a1cb-fe9cb8340003","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">long ...