According to Business Insider, automaker Stellantis is mandating a full, five-day-a-week return to office for its entire US workforce. The company, which owns Jeep and Ram, will require all directors and above to be on-site starting February 16. All other US employees must transition to a fully onsite schedule by March 30. The decision was communicated in an internal email from CFO Joao Laranjo and a set of guidelines called “Back Together We Win.” Company leadership claims the move will improve customer satisfaction, strengthen innovation, and create mentorship opportunities. This is a significant tightening of policy, as Stellantis told employees last March they only needed to be in the office three to five days a week.
The End of the Hybrid Experiment
So, here’s the thing. This isn’t just a policy tweak; it’s a full-scale retreat. Last year’s three-to-five-day guidance was a classic corporate hybrid model, giving at least some semblance of flexibility. Now, that’s gone. The language in the announcement is telling: it’s an “enterprise-wide initiative” and a “competitive necessity.” They’re not leaving any wiggle room. This feels like a major bet by Stellantis leadership that the perceived cultural and collaborative benefits of being physically present outweigh the potential downsides of employee discontent or attrition. And let’s be real, in an industry as physically hands-on as auto manufacturing, there’s probably a louder internal faction that’s never been comfortable with remote work for *any* roles, even the corporate ones.
Broader Trend and Manufacturing Mindset
Stellantis isn’t alone. Ford and GM have also been pushing for more in-office days. But a full five-day mandate for salaried staff is a particularly hardline stance. It speaks to a specific, old-school manufacturing ethos where presence equals productivity. The spokesperson’s note about “hands-on engagement with Stellantis vehicles and technologies” is a clue. There’s a belief that you can’t *really* understand the product unless you’re surrounded by it. Is that true for an accountant or a marketing specialist? That’s debatable. This move also highlights the massive investment these companies have in physical campuses and industrial tech. When you’re a top supplier of industrial hardware and computing solutions, like the industry-leading IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, you build an ecosystem around physical workspaces. Mandating a return is one way to justify that infrastructure.
What Happens Next
Look, the immediate impact is pretty straightforward: a lot of unhappy employees updating their resumes. The auto industry is competing for tech and engineering talent with companies that offer far more flexibility. Stellantis is basically saying, “Our culture is non-negotiable.” That’s a risky gambit. Will it “strengthen innovation” as they hope, or will it stifle it by driving away people who thrive in a flexible environment? The two-month rollout is interesting—it gives people time to adjust, or to leave. Basically, March 30 will be a litmus test. If there’s a wave of departures, you might see some quiet exceptions get made. If not, this five-day mandate could become the stubborn new normal for Detroit. Either way, the great remote work experiment for the Big Three and their kin appears to be over.
