SEATTLE — Some members of the engineering and technicians' union said they would leave Boeing if they were forced to come back into the office full-time.
It's one of the first major companies in western Washington to make this requirement.
The news of Boeing doing away with hybrid schedules was initially brought up in October by Boeing Commercial Division CEO Stanley Deal in an all-employee meeting.
"We knew it was coming but they started pushing it probably in the last month," a Boeing employee said.
Boeing said in a statement that they have transitioned more employees to work in the office and are now asking everyone to return to its pre-pandemic policy. It's a move requiring employees to be back in the office for 40 hours a week, stricter than Amazon and Microsoft's hybrid policies.
"I can get a lot more done if I wake up at 5 a.m. and get to work right away and don't have to fight traffic coming in," a Boeing employee said.
It's frustrating for Boeing employees like this person who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation. They told KING 5 managers are having these conversations with employees.
"I'll do my best to accommodate them, but I think if push comes to shove, if they're going to manage the gate when I badge in and badge out, I'm at retirement age," said a Boeing employee.
"We have heard from some of our members that if they are mandated to be full-time in office, they will look for other options," said Bryan Corliss, a spokesperson for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA).
According to SPEEA, managers can allow employees to work remotely when it makes sense for their department. The union hopes Boeing will continue with this policy as employees currently work with varying degrees of a hybrid schedule.
"It's something that we feel has been successful and we believe the data will show it's something that should continue," Corliss said.
The current SPEEA contract allows Boeing to establish and take away remote work options whenever it wants. But for employees used to a hybrid level.
"Overall it'll be less productive for the work I do."
Boeing has not given a clear date for employees to be back full-time, but employees who talked with KING 5 all said they were given clear instructions to be full-time by next year.