General Motors employees will eventually return to work at the automaker’s towering Renaissance Center headquarters in downtown Detroit following the pandemic, the automaker has confirmed.
In a statement released this week, GM president Mark Reuss reiterated the automaker’s commitment to the complex of skyscrapers that it purchased in 1996, saying it intends to bring employees back to the facility once the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided.
“After 25 years of our involvement in the transformation of Detroit’s riverfront, our commitment to the city is steadfast,” Reuss said, as quoted by The Detroit Free Press. “We look to the future with our global headquarters continuing as the flagship of Detroit’s riverfront.”
A report published back in 2019 indicated GM CEO Mary Barra was exploring the idea of selling the Renaissance Center to Detroit real estate giant Dan Gilbert. The COVID-19 pandemic, which forced corporations and companies to implement work from home policies for their employees, has injected new life into rumors that Barra will offload the building, though GM maintains that it wants to keep the Ren Cen in its possession for the time being.
“This is our headquarters and our headquarters will remain on the riverfront,” GM spokesperson David Caldwell told the Free Press.
Around 5,000 white-collar employees work at the Renaissance Center, though these employees are currently working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. GM is planning to start bringing employees back to work in June or July of this year, but Caldwell said the return to work date is a moving target based on how the pandemic situation evolves in the coming months.
“I don’t think we know exactly what it looks like post-pandemic, but we’re working on it,” he said.
GM is working to implement a COVID-19 vaccination plan for its employees, which could help speed up their return to the office. The automaker has also said it will not require its employees to get vaccinated if they don’t want to.
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Comments
After all the disruption during the transition and money thrown at the project they better improve their implementation of occupancy.
Shareholders would be rich if Mary dumped this white elephant and bought something in a nice suburb with people who don’t vote to defund the police. But no, “gm” has to have it’s HQ in a downtown where apes throw molotov fecal bananas at the humans.