Apple’s Ian Goodfellow reportedly left a note with staff, saying: “I strongly believe that more flexibility would be the best policy for my team.”
Apple’s director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, has reportedly left the technology giant after more than three years due to his return policy, according to The Verge technology reporter Zoe Schiffer.
Schiffer said on Twitter that Goodfellow had left a note for staff, saying: “I strongly believe that more flexibility would be the best policy for my team.”
“He was probably the company’s most quoted ML expert,” Schiffer tweeted on Saturday (May 7th).
Goodfellow joined Apple in 2019 as director of machine learning in the special projects group, and was previously a senior researcher at Google. For his work with neural networks, he was described by the MIT Technology Review as the man who “gave machines the gift of imagination.”
Ian Goodfellow, Apple’s director of machine learning, is leaving the company because of its return policy. In a note to staff, he said: “I strongly believe that more flexibility would be the best policy for my team.” He was probably the most cited ML expert in the company.
– Zoe Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) May 7, 2022
Apple announced plans to reopen its offices in March, when CEO Tim Cook told employees in a note that they would return to work from April 11 gradually. This return date was for the company’s corporate employees, many of whom have been working from home for more than two years.
According to Cook’s note, Apple employees have been required to work at least one day a week in the office since April 11, increasing three weeks later to two days a week. Until May 23, Apple employees are expected to be in the office at least three days a week.
Cook acknowledged in the note that the return could be a “disturbing change” for some and a “long-awaited cornerstone” and a “positive change” for others. He said the company would continue to offer flexible and hybrid operating options and stressed that the reopening would adhere to local guidelines on Covid-19.
Other technology giants have announced similar plans to reopen their offices and introduce a hybrid work model. However, companies are divided over whether their staff should return to the office in a hybrid model or be able to be fully flexible.
Google is implementing a hybrid policy, similar to Apple, in which employees work three days in the office and two days remotely.
Twitter is looking to a more flexible future, with staff who can work in the office, remotely or in a hybrid agreement. Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter’s chief executive last November, said at the start of the pandemic that employees would be able to work remotely forever if they wished.
Airbnb CEO Brian Cesky said in an interview with Time yesterday (May 8th) that offices will offer more flexibility in the future and that “the office as we know it is over.”
This was followed by a message from Cesky last month, where he said that all Airbnb employees will be able to work from anywhere. From September, the company’s employees will be allowed to live and work in more than 170 countries for up to 90 days a year anywhere.
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