Microsoft has ‘bad news' for these employees in the US
As per a report by The Verge, the company initially encouraged remote work in 2020, before formalising a hybrid workplace policy that allowed managers to approve permanent remote arrangements. Now, with the pandemic settled into endemicity, Microsoft plans to reintroduce regular office attendance. Sources indicate that some employees may even be required to return four or five days a week, depending on team requirements. Executive vice presidents will determine these decisions, and exceptions will be considered in certain cases.
The policy will primarily affect employees living within 50 miles of Microsoft's Redmond campus, near Seattle, where most of its 125,000 US-based staff are located. The new rules are expected to be announced in September, with implementation slated for late January.
During a recent Experiences + Devices all-hands call, Microsoft highlighted that employees spending three or four days in the office demonstrate higher Thriving Scores, a metric used to assess well-being. The company has integrated the Thrive Global tool into Microsoft Teams to track employee sentiment through regular questionnaires.
Despite concerns over commuting and workspace availability, Microsoft is moving ahead with a significant campus expansion. The renovation plan includes 17 new buildings replacing 12 older structures, providing space for an additional 8,000 employees. Seven buildings are currently open, while others remain under construction or on hold. Some employees have reported shortages of focus rooms and power capacity, yet the company aims to provide dedicated desks for those returning three days per week.
Reactions among staff are mixed. Some employees welcome the return, having experienced empty offices and quiet cafeterias over the past few years. Others are concerned about increased travel time, crowded workspaces, and the difficulty of balancing office attendance with personal obligations. There is also speculation that the policy may act as a subtle method of encouraging employees who are disengaged to leave, following recent layoffs that affected roughly 15,000 roles.
Microsoft's return-to-office plan is likely to influence hybrid work policies at other companies. The firm was an early promoter of hybrid work and positioned Microsoft Teams as a tool to support remote collaboration. Now, with a mandatory three-day office return, other organisations may reassess their remote work strategies, particularly for junior employees who benefit from face-to-face interaction.
While Microsoft is not enforcing a full-time return like Amazon or Google, its approach could redefine industry standards and highlight the limits of fully remote collaboration, even with advanced digital tools like Teams.
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Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- Indian Express
In industrial belt near Delhi, Trump's tariffs cloud outlook for export of engineering goods
In one of the many cavernous sheds dotting Ghaziabad, the industrial suburb on the outskirts of the Capital, a giant stands silent. The massive metal forging machine, hauled from China only months ago at a cost of Rs 20 crore, glints under the dim factory lights, its steel body collecting a fine coat of dust. It was meant to be the future: sleek, electric-powered, capable of shaping metal with precision and scale. Yet, in its shadow, the old ritual continues. A knot of workers, sleeves rolled, faces flushed with heat, gather around a much smaller press, striking molten metal with steady, rhythmic blows. The clangs echo through the workshop like the heartbeat of an older era. For Ghaziabad-based CD Industries, a manufacturer of metal flanges feeding oil and gas exploration rigs across the US, the dormant machinery was supposed to answer the shifting demands of its overseas clients. Instead, it waits, inert. 'Baal mundwaate hi ole padne lage (It started raining hail stones as soon as one got his hair shaved),' Pankaj Agarwal, Director, CD Industries, told The Indian Express at his manufacturing plant in one of Ghaziabad's biggest industrial belts on the Bulandshahr Road. Agarwal had purchased the electric metal forge to exclusively service client requests from the US, who had asked him to make flanges of up to 16 inches, as opposed to his current capacity of eight-inch flanges. But, with US President Donald Trump's decision to raise tariffs on several Indian goods – to 25 per cent, with a further 25 per cent increase threatened by August 27 – new orders have dried up for Agarwal, and many engineering goods exporters like him. Increasingly, several US-based vendors are even cancelling earlier orders, resulting in significant financial losses for several Indian medium and small enterprises. Engineering is the largest industrial sector in India and accounts for 3.53 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The engineering goods export of India had a share of 25.22 per cent out of the total exports during the financial year FY24, as they jumped to $109.22 billion as compared to $106.93 billion during FY23. In FY25 (April to December), India's top five export destinations in the sector were the US (15.82%), the UAE (7.36%), Saudi Arabia (5.24%), Singapore (4.46%) and Germany (3.52%). Industries like auto components and metal works are particularly at a disadvantage. For CD Industries, the US is its exclusive export market, accounting for 50 per cent of the company's turnover. 'While we are continuing to deliver the previously placed orders, new enquiries have stopped coming in. For some companies, their previous orders have been cancelled, as importers are seeking a discount, which many manufacturers are not in a position to accept,' Agarwal said. His products are supplied across the length and breadth of the US, from the West Coast to the East Coast, and Texas to New York. 'The tariff situation is bothering us, haunting us, and we are really, really worried,' he said. His plant in Ghaziabad employs 225 people, including floor workers, project managers and quality control managers. For now, he says the older orders not getting cancelled – a fact he attributes to his long-standing relationship with his vendors, dating back 20 to 30 years – has allowed him to not trim the workforce. But if the situation continues for a longer time, he may have to let go of some workers, Agarwal said. Sanjeev Sachdev, general secretary of the Industrial Area Manufacturers' Association in Ghaziabad, said there are more than 400 manufacturing plants in the belt, which employ over 75,000 people. 'If the tariff situation is not resolved, and the government does not alternatively help the industry financially in the meantime, easily 5,000-7,000 people will lose their jobs. Many companies, who have purchased raw material and made finished goods, are staring at generations getting into debt,' Sachdev said. Pankaj Chadha, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India, said about $5 billion worth of engineering goods exports are at risk due to US tariffs. 'Unlike other sectors, for us the pain started early on when the US announced 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium. At this tariff rate, we cannot be competitive and we are not in a position to retain our market share in the US,' he said. Sachdev speaks with the quiet fatalism of someone who is anticipating to see too many balance sheets bleed red. Between raw metal and a gleaming finished part lies a steep markup – not just in price, but in labour, skill, and the hours of heat and noise that shape it. Yet that value can vanish in an instant. If an overseas buyer pulls the plug, the goods, tailored to a single client's specifications, are suddenly orphaned, with no other market to call home. In that moment, there are only two doors left open: swallow the buyer's demand for a deep discount, or consign the work to the scrap heap, where months of craft and capital dissolve into a fraction of their worth. For some manufacturers, it is not just a bad deal – it is the slow tightening of a noose. One too many of such blows, and the factory floor falls silent. Many in the industry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned that the real weight of the new tariffs will fall not on the industry's giants, but on the small and medium enterprises. The big players can simply pivot, scouting for new markets, absorbing the shock with the comfort of deep reserves. For the smaller firms, there is no such cushion, no easy escape route. The blow, when it lands, goes straight to the bone. Agarwal, Chadha and Sachdev, all said that the government's help to support companies in distress is the need of the hour. 'We expect the government to extend Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) to the steel sector and restart the interest subvention scheme to ease the pain,' Chadha said. Vinod Kumar, president of the India SME Forum, said that export-focused countries like China have heavily invested in promoting their products globally. 'India has not done that over the years. This is a systemic problem. The nature of trade has changed over the years. Only production is not going to solve your problem, we have to market them effectively,' he said.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
NHAI nod to alter road construction
Thiruvananthapuram: In the wake of a retaining wall collapse at Kooriyad in Malappuram district, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) approved a revised construction method for two sections of NH 66 in the capital district. The changes will be implemented at Pallipuram near Technocity and Mamom bridge near Attingal, where the highway passes through low-lying paddy fields. Pune-based RKC Infrastructure Ltd, the contractor for Kazhakkoottam-Kadampattukonam stretch, submitted a proposal to NHAI recommending a shift from the originally planned elevated embankment construction to a surface-level road. The contractor cited both environmental sensitivity and structural safety for the modification. "Instead of constructing retaining walls, the road will now be built at surface level to minimise soil pressure and improve long-term stability in the marshy terrain," said a source familiar with the project. However, despite intermittent rains, the construction was nearly 50% completed and is expected to be completed in May 2026. "The ambitious project includes construction of Attingal bypass, which is in full swing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The 5 Books Warren Buffett Recommends You To Read in 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The work gained momentum last month. Except for new proposals at Mamom and Pallipuram, the works are going on at a fast pace. The work at Kazhakkoottam and Kallambalam side are going on simultaneously and also at Attingal bypass. Though there is shortage of soil and red earth, we are setting up a new unit soon to ensure that the materials are easily available and to avoid dependency on quarry units in Tamil Nadu. Approval for the new unit has been accorded. Currently, we procure materials and aggregates from a unit at Vellalloor," an RKC Infrastructure official told TOI. Construction work on this critical corridor has been ongoing since May 2025. In total, 13.8km of service road is being developed alongside the main highway, of which nearly 9km has been surfaced. RKC officials have assured that the remaining 4.8 km of tarring will be completed soon. Originally scheduled for completion in Jan 2025, the deadline extended to Oct 2025 and the contractor recently requested a further extension to March 2026, a request deemed unacceptable by both NHAI and state govt. Once fully completed, the 29-km upgraded NH-66 corridor will include four flyovers, 36 culverts, six minor bridges, three vehicle overpasses, five vehicle underpasses, six light-vehicle underpasses, four small-vehicle underpasses, three cattle underpasses, a parallel service road, 20 bus bays and a pedestrian overbridge across the 11.15-km Attingal bypass. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Hindustan Times
42 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Gonna take 10 years to build one wall': US man calls Americans lazy as workers use machines to lift bricks
A video shared by a US-based TikTok user has sparked online debate over construction practices in America. The clip, originally posted by the user @mickystickey, shows his commentary layered over footage of workers building a wall. A TikTok video showing US workers using machines to lift bricks sparked debate.(TikTok/@mickystickey) (Also read: TikToker sobs on camera, blames ChatGPT for missing flight to Puerto Rico) In the footage, a worker dressed in a neon yellow safety vest and helmet is seen laying blocks with the help of a suspended suction device. The camera later pans to another worker also relying on the machine to lift and position the bricks into place. Commentary claims Americans are becoming 'lazy' The TikTok user provided his own commentary on the clip. He can be heard saying, "Hey y'all, look how lazy we are in America. Now they got all the illegals out, you got regular Americans doing construction work. And we're so damn lazy we can't even pick up the bricks ourselves. They really got these suction machines to move the bricks around. It's gonna take them 10 years just to build one wall. And look, all the employees are using these machines." He captioned the video, "We are lazy in America." Reddit reactions fuel wider discussion The video was later reshared on Reddit under the caption: 'When they finish building the damn wall, China will have built an entire city.' The repost has since attracted more than 3,500 comments, reflecting a range of views from users. One commenter remarked, "This isn't laziness, it's efficiency. Machines exist to reduce injury and improve output." Another argued, "The guy calling it lazy clearly hasn't lifted bricks for eight hours straight. This tech is about protecting workers' health." Some, however, agreed with the TikTok creator, with one saying, "America is definitely becoming softer. Hard labour builds character, and relying on machines for every little thing shows how far we've slipped." Another person added, "It's going to take forever to finish projects this way, the machines seem slower than just doing it by hand." Others defended the practice, with one user writing, "I've worked in construction for years. These devices actually speed up the process and prevent long-term back injuries. It's not laziness, it's progress." A different commenter noted, "This is exactly what technology is for. We don't call farmers lazy for using tractors."
