Apple’s machine learning director quits over return to office policy

Director of machine learning Ian Goodfellow announced his resignation last week, telling colleagues that the company’s return-to-work in the office for three days per week was the reason he was leaving.
Apple Park in Cupertino, California
Theo Wayt for The New York Post:

The news comes as Apple orders all corporate employees to return to the office for three days per week — a stricter policy than Big Tech competitors like Meta, Google and Amazon, which are allowing at least some employees to work remotely forever.
“I believe strongly that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team,” Goodfellow wrote in a goodbye note… One Apple employee quoted Goodfellow as saying, “I’m leaving for many reasons… but Apple’s return to office policy is the biggest single reason.”
Apple is requiring employees to work in-person on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Employees are also allowed to work fully remotely for up to four weeks per year…
The Post previously reported in April that Cook’s return-to-office push was driving some corporate employees out the door, with one staffer ranting, “I don’t give a single f—k about ever coming back to work here.”

MacDailyNews Take: Interestingly, Goodfellow leaves just after hitting the three year mark with Apple, a nice round number, which leads us to wonder what his stock option vesting schedule looked like.
Was Goodfellow planning all along to leave at this time anyway, but – hey, what the heck; no skin off my nose – decided to leave a parting gift to the relative handful of lazy “Apple Together” employees who dream of “working” (as in: not much) from home indefinitely?
As we wrote last month:

Puleeze. Can the crap.
The only people who complain of having to go into the office to actually work for three whole days are, to use the scientific parlance: lazy assholes.
So, Apple’s management should collectively grow a pair and promptly extend a parting cordiality to the “Apple Together” wannabe layabouts: Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.

As we wrote nearly a year ago (!):

Employees who don’t want to return to work in person should pound sand either of their own volition or via pink slip.
“The inclusivity that flexibility brings?” Bullshit nonsense.
Returning to offices in early September is already ridiculously late.
There are literally millions of qualified, talented, driven people who would gladly work five – gasp! – whole days a week in the office for Apple.
Get back to work or get lost.
Successful companies like Apple don’t run on layabouts who’ve already enjoyed a very lengthy year-plus extended vacation and who are now ruined.
If these employees don’t quickly wake and wise up, cut them loose, Apple. Swing the axe, don’t coddle them.

• I do not adopt softness towards others because I want to make them better. — Steve Jobs
• Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected. — Steve Jobs
• “A” players attract “A” players. “B” players attract “C” players. — Steve Jobs

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