Hey friend,
Remember when getting laid off meant actually getting laid off? When companies at least had the decency to be honest about it?
Welcome to 2025, where a quarter of executives admit they hoped for voluntary turnover after implementing return-to-office policies (Fortune, September 2025). Translation: they're counting on you to quit so they don't have to fire you.
If you've been sitting at your kitchen table in yoga pants for the past few years, only to receive an email demanding you return to an office that's now a 90-minute commute away, you're not imagining things. You're experiencing what labor experts are calling a "silent layoff" — and it's deliberate.
💔 Real Talk: The AT&T Musical Chairs Game
In May 2025, AT&T CEO John Stankey mandated that 60,000 managers must report to work in person — but only at nine specific offices among the company's 350 locations spread across the country (WorldatWork, August 2025).
The brutal math? Stankey initially estimated 9,000 managers would have to choose between moving or leaving, but the actual number affected is closer to 25,000 (WorldatWork, August 2025). Most won't receive relocation money.
"It's a layoff wolf in return-to-office sheep's clothing," said one anonymous AT&T manager (WorldatWork, August 2025).
Here's what they tried:
✔️ Applied for transfer to nearby offices — denied
✔️ Requested hybrid arrangements — rejected
✔️ Asked for relocation assistance — told "case-by-case basis"
✔️ Updated LinkedIn profiles and started job searching
✔️ Some quit. Others are commuting 3+ hours daily. Many are still in limbo.
🧠 Data-Driven Reality: The Numbers Behind the Ultimatum
Let's talk about what's really happening in corporate America right now.
The Admission: According to a BambooHR survey of more than 1,500 U.S. managers, one in five HR professionals admitted their in-office policy was meant to make staff quit (Fortune, September 2025).
Even more damning: Nearly 40% of all managers believe their organization did layoffs because not enough workers quit in response to their company's RTO mandate (Fortune, September 2025).
The Scope: The number of workers required to be in the office regularly surged to 75% in late 2024, up from 63% in early 2023 (Pew Research Center, 2025). Major companies implementing strict RTO in 2025 include Amazon (5 days), AT&T (5 days), JPMorgan Chase (5 days), and Dell (varying requirements).
The Resistance: 46% of workers who currently work from home at least sometimes would be somewhat or very unlikely to stay at their job if their employer scrapped remote work (Pew Research Center, January 2025).
The Consequences: Here's where it gets real. Among workers who resisted RTO mandates, 63% were fired and 23% faced formal reprimands (LiveCareer, February 2025). This isn't a bluff.
The Cost to Companies: Research shows 99% of companies with RTO mandates have seen a drop in engagement (Fortune, September 2025), and 8 in 10 companies admitted they lost talent due to RTO mandates (ResumeBuilder, 2024).
📋 Practical Strategy: Your Action Plan for the RTO Ultimatum
If you're facing an RTO mandate right now, here's your strategic playbook:
1. Document Everything Immediately
Labor experts warn that using RTO as an "end run to layoffs" could violate the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) Act (WorldatWork, August 2025). Save every email, Slack message, and announcement about the RTO policy. If 50+ people are affected in your location, WARN Act protections may apply.
2. Run the Numbers on Your Real Options
Calculate your total commute costs (gas, parking, wear and tear, food)
Add up time: If you're commuting 2 hours daily, that's 520 hours per year
Research relocation costs if applicable
Compare this to your current compensation
3. Negotiate Before You Comply or Quit
Try requesting:
Phased return (2 days, then 3, then 4)
Compressed workweek (4 days in office, 3 day weekend)
Flexible hours (come in 10am-3pm to avoid peak traffic)
Quarterly travel to office instead of weekly
Remote work exceptions for caregiving or medical needs
4. Understand Your Legal Position
Employment lawyer Shelline Bennett advises that employers should not use an RTO mandate to trim the workforce, as this can lead to discrimination claims and disparate impact on protected classes such as those 40 years and over (WorldatWork, August 2025).
If you're being forced out via RTO and fall into a protected class, or if the policy disproportionately affects parents or people with disabilities, document it.
5. Start Your Job Search NOW (Even If You Plan to Stay)
Amazon employees immediately started updating their LinkedIn profiles and "rage applying" for new jobs after the company's 5-day RTO mandate, with one staffer saying "I've lost so much trust in Amazon leadership at this point" (Fortune, September 2025).
The best time to look for a job is when you still have one. Set your LinkedIn to "Open to Work" (only recruiters can see), update your resume, and start having coffee chats.
6. Know What You're Worth in the Remote Job Market
Research by Stanford professor Nick Bloom shows workers value hybrid work as equivalent to an 8% raise (CNBC, January 2025). When evaluating new opportunities, add 8% to any in-office salary offer to compare fairly against remote positions.
7. Consider Your Exit Strategy
Silent layoffs are being used strategically by companies to avoid layoff headlines, reduce severance payouts, and restructure without panic (Hello Hired, 2025).
If you see the writing on the wall:
Negotiate severance even if you're "resigning"
Request extended health benefits
Ask for a neutral reference letter before you leave
Check if you can collect unemployment (depends on state and circumstances)
🎯 Weekly Challenge: The RTO Reality Check (45 minutes)
This week, get brutally honest about your situation:
Part 1: Calculate Your Break-Even Point (15 minutes)
What's your current annual salary and benefits package worth?
What would an in-office position cost you annually? (commute, childcare, food, time, stress)
What's the minimum salary increase you'd need to break even?
Is your company offering any of that? (Hint: probably not)
Part 2: Map Your Options (15 minutes)
If you comply: Can you sustain this for 1 year? 3 years? 5 years?
If you negotiate: What's your minimum acceptable compromise?
If you refuse: What's your runway? (savings, partner income, backup plan)
If you leave: What's your Plan A, B, and C?
Part 3: Take One Action (15 minutes)
Update your LinkedIn profile
Save all RTO communication to a personal folder
Research WARN Act rules in your state
Schedule one coffee chat with someone who works remotely
Or: Draft your negotiation email (don't send yet—we're strategizing)
Be honest about what you're willing to sacrifice and what you're not. There's no right answer here—only your answer.
Go from AI overwhelmed to AI savvy professional
AI will eliminate 300 million jobs in the next 5 years.
Yours doesn't have to be one of them.
Here's how to future-proof your career:
Join the Superhuman AI newsletter - read by 1M+ professionals
Learn AI skills in 3 mins a day
Become the AI expert on your team
🧰 Resources
DOL WARN Act Compliance Assistance – Understand your legal rights if the RTO is actually a disguised mass layoff
WARN Tracker – Search for WARN notices by company to see if your employer has filed (or should have)
We Work Remotely – Free remote job board with positions across tech, marketing, customer support, and more
🔥 Fuel for the Week
"This is how we get the right people doing similar functions in the right places where they can collaboratively work to build this company for the next 10 years."
— John Stankey, AT&T CEO, explaining the RTO mandate
Read it again. Notice what he said? "The right people."
When executives talk about getting "the right people," they often mean the people who don't push back. The ones who'll accept whatever conditions are imposed without question. That's not about building a better company—that's about building a more compliant workforce.
You get to decide if you're willing to be that person. And if you're not, that's not a failure on your part.
🌟 Here's the truth they're not telling you:
Companies are using RTO mandates to force voluntary resignations because it helps them avoid layoff headlines, reduce severance costs, and restructure without alarming remaining staff (Hello Hired, 2025).
But here's what they're also not telling you: Only 12% of executives with hybrid or fully remote workers plan a return-to-office mandate in the year ahead (Stanford Report, March 2025). That means 88% of companies aren't following this trend. There are still plenty of employers who understand that flexibility is a competitive advantage, not a perk to be revoked.
The RTO ultimatum isn't happening everywhere. And it doesn't have to happen to you. You have options—more than you think.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is refuse to play a rigged game. Look for a different table.
Win
Fellow layoff survivor, creator of Let Go Weekly
📧 Reply to this email with your RTO story. Are you facing an ultimatum? Did you negotiate successfully? Did you walk away? Your experience might be exactly what someone else needs to hear this week.
P.S. — Nearly a third of workers would consider leaving their positions if forced to return to their company's towers (Fortune, September 2025). You're not alone in this. The companies betting you won't leave might be surprised at how many talented people are willing to call their bluff.
