Director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, is reportedly leaving Apple because of the company's return-to-office policy.
A director of machine learning at Apple, Ian Goodfellow, is resigning from his role and leaving the company, according to The Verge reporter Zoë Schiffer.
The news comes in the light of Apple's return-to-office policy. Apple previously asked its employees to attend the office one day a week by April 11, at least two days a week by May 2, and on May 23, it will require many of the staffers to go to the office at least three days per week.
Goodfellow, who worked for Apple for a little more than three years, reportedly broke the news to staff in an email, saying that his departure is partly caused by Apple's plan to return to work from the office. "I believe strongly that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team," Goodfellow wrote in a note to staff, as Schiffer reports.
Like the majority of companies, Apple closed its office at the beginning of 2020 due to the pandemic. Although now its policy suggests that the company has been more demanding regarding preparing for a return to the office than other tech giants like Meta, Google, and Amazon, which allow at least some employees to keep working remotely forever.
In the middle of 2021, Apple said it would require its staffers to come in three days a week when its office is open which was followed by a group of employees sending a letter to CEO Tim Cook asking to push back against a new policy.
"Without the inclusivity that flexibility brings, many of us feel we have to choose between either a combination of our families, our well-being, and being empowered to do our best work, or being a part of Apple," the letter reads. "This is a decision none of us take lightly, and a decision many would prefer not to have to make."
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