Startup Europe. Grown up reporting
Consumer/Food/News/
By Tim Smith and Freya Pratty
Consumer
By Freya Pratty and Amy Lewin 9 December 2022
Consumer/Food/News/
By Tim Smith and Freya Pratty
Getir, Europe’s largest speedy grocery company, has requested all office-based employees return to the office full time, bucking the trend of startups embracing more flexible work policies.
The company announcement, according to two Getir employees and an email seen by Sifted, lays out the case “to fully return to office working globally, which means five days in the office for non-field colleagues”.
The email, signed by Getir’s chief legal officer Selin Barlin Aral, says that the decision was taken to put an end to “hazy, non-committal hybrid that often ends in empty offices”, and that it will apply to all of Getir’s brands, including recently acquired Gorillas and Frichti.
While the move might be out of step with what most tech companies are doing post-pandemic by adopting hybrid work environments, Getir isn’t the first to call staff back to the office. In November, Elon Musk told Twitter staff to return to the office after doing the same with Tesla employees in June.
The email says that “we all know that teams move faster and we solve problems quicker when we’re together” and that Getir’s “unique culture is stronger when we’re able to work side by side”.
While the email says that “we recognise there will be individual needs with a full return to the office and these will be considered”, the announcement appears to be going down badly with Getir staff.
One tells Sifted that staff were “shouting and swearing” at Getir’s general manager and head of people, saying that the move would cause problems for families.
They add that they believe that the move is designed to encourage people to leave the company, as it reorganises in the wake of acquiring Berlin-founded rival Gorillas late last year.
Two sources from the company have said that staff from Gorillas will be laid off as a result of the merger.
Getir declined to comment.
Freya Pratty is a senior reporter at Sifted. She tweets from @FPratty. Tim Smith is senior reporter at Sifted. He tweets from @timmpsmith
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