NBCU Says Return to the Office or Leave: Severance Offer

Days after announcing that its hybrid employees would have to return to the office (RTO) four days a week starting Jan. 5, NBCUniversal is offering an alternative to its mandate — accept a buyout.

According to internal documents obtained by Business Insider, NBC is offering employees who don’t want to return to the office the following severance package: eight weeks of pay, plus medical, dental, and vision benefits for three months after their departure. Employees will also receive a full bonus if eligible.

The package does not add additional compensation based on the employee’s tenure. Workers have to ask their HR managers about the severance offer by Oct. 3 to get the offer, BI learned.

Related: What Is ‘Task Masking’? Young Workers Retaliate Against Return-to-Office Mandates With a Viral Strategy.

The severance package only applies to NBC employees at the vice president level or below who currently work a hybrid schedule and are located in the U.S. and the U.K. They will be required to work through Dec. 31 on the company’s payroll and transfer their responsibilities to other employees before they leave. According to PitchBook, NBC has nearly 60,000 employees worldwide.

NBCU workers previously followed a hybrid schedule, coming into the office three days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), according to Variety. The new four-day policy would require them to come in on Mondays as well.

Many companies are implementing RTO mandates across a variety of fields. Buy now, pay later company, Klarna, announced earlier this week that it would require workers to work from the office three days per week starting September 29. Klarna began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday and employed 3,422 workers as of the end of 2024.

Microsoft is also requiring its employees to work from the office at least three days a week starting in February. Microsoft’s worldwide headcount as of June 30 was 228,000 employees, with 125,000 workers located in the U.S.

Related: Verizon Tries to Steal ‘Top Talent’ From Rival AT&T With Email Promoting Its Hybrid and Remote Roles

Other companies, like AT&T, JPMorgan, and Amazon, have already implemented RTO mandates this year, despite employee pushback.

A survey conducted by Bamboo HR last year found that around one in four C-Suite executives hoped strict RTO policies would prompt some employees to quit, calling the RTO orders “layoffs in disguise.” According to the study, around 40% of managers had to implement actual layoffs when fewer employees quit than expected after the RTO mandate.

Though executives have touted the benefits of in-person work for strengthening company culture and helping employees grow their careers, hybrid work also has its benefits.

A study published in the scientific journal Nature last year revealed no differences in productivity, performance, or promotion when comparing employees who went to work fully in-person for six months, and those who followed a hybrid schedule.

Related: Dropbox’s CEO Is Still in Favor of Remote Work