Apple's Machine Learning Leader Resigns Over Mandatory Office Return

The significance of this is profound - aside from the damage it may do to Apple's machine learning and artificial intelligence efforts. The reason is that Apple has long been considered a company so iconic that no matter what its personnel or compensation policies might be, employees were thought more than likely to remain loyal and continue their employment. 

Goodfellow's resignation over the company's mandatory return to office policy suggests that a growing number of tech workers with important skills may no longer be swayed by Apple's reputation or brand if its behavior is not consistent with their demand for more flexibility. JL

Sami Fathi reports in MacRumors:

Apple's director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, has resigned from his role a little over four years after he joined the company being one of Google's top AI employees. Goodfellow broke the news to staff in an email, saying his resignation is in part due to Apple's plan to return to in-person work, which required employees to work from the office at least one day per week by April 11, at least two days per week by May 2, and at least three days per week by May 23. "I believe strongly that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team,"

Apple's director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, has resigned from his role a little over four years after he joined the company after previously being one of Google's top AI employees, according to The Verge's Zoë Schiffer.

 

Goodfellow reportedly broke the news to staff in an email, saying his resignation is in part due to Apple's plan to return to in-person work, which required employees to work from the office at least one day per week by April 11, at least two days per week by May 2, and at least three days per week by May 23. "I believe strongly that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team," Goodfellow said in the email.

Apple employees began returning to Apple Park last month, with the three-day in-office work policy being enacted on May 23. Some employees have been unhappy about the plan to return to in-person work.

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook during the summer, a group of employees said "Without the inclusivity that flexibility brings, many of us feel we have to choose between either a combination of our families, our well-being, and being empowered to do our best work, or being a part of Apple. This is a decision none of us take lightly, and a decision many would prefer not to have to make."