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Zoom Staffers Forced to Return to the Office as Head of HR Works Remotely

Zoom’s Chief People Officer is dialing up irony as the company tries to be seen as more than a video conferencing platform.

Staffers at video conferencing platform Zoom are being forced to turn off their video cameras and return to the office while their chief people officer works remotely from Texas. The platform’s popularity skyrocketed through the rise of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and proved that many companies can operate at full force while working remotely. The company’s abrupt about-face comes at the behest of Matthew Saxon, Zoom’s chief people officer, who joined the company in 2022 from tech giant Meta. Saxon wants workers who live within 50 miles of a Zoom office to come in two days a week. Zoom’s four U.S. office locations are in San Jose, Denver, Santa Barbara and Kansas City. Saxon’s home in Austin excludes him from the new in-person mandate, even as his employees question why. “I think I can manage people at Zoom effectively while working fully remotely,” he told Fortune. The company is implementing the new policy in an attempt to be viewed as an “AI-first collaboration platform” as opposed to a video calling platform.