Key points
- Sony's chip unit is ending most remote work
- New private rooms and a lunch subsidy
- A shift from its 2022 remote-work plans
Sony Group (SONY) will bring about 8,000 employees at its chip unit back to the office starting in October, Nikkei reported on Friday. The unit, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, makes the image sensors that capture pictures in cameras and phones.
Sony believes bringing departments together in person will help develop new businesses, including physical AI, which uses AI to control robots and machines, according to Nikkei.
Office attendance will become the default, according to Nikkei's Japanese report. The unit is adding private rooms and a lunch subsidy, while Nikkei Asia reported plans for more spaces for informal conversations and focused work.
A shift from its 2022 remote-work plans
In September 2022, Sony announced that a full-remote option was under consideration at Sony Semiconductor Solutions starting that October, Mynavi reported. Employees hired under that arrangement would not be expected to come to the office, which Sony said would make it easier to recruit from anywhere in Japan. Sony described the chip unit as a trial run for its other businesses.
The arrangement did take effect for mid-career hires in the chip business, Nikkei reported in February 2023. The reports don't say whether the new office rule covers employees hired under it.
Nikkei Asia called Sony the latest Japanese company to roll back remote work.
Why physical AI
Sony has named physical AI as a growth area for months. In June, Kenji Tanaka, president of Sony Group's electronics unit, said the field fits well with Sony's camera and sensor technology and that the company would treat it as a growth business, Nikkei reported.
Chipmakers are chasing the same market. Nvidia (NVDA) expects its physical AI revenue to grow from $10 billion to $100 billion over a decade. Governments are spending on it too, and China has aimed a $137 billion state fund at AI and robotics.
Sony had not published an announcement on the chip unit's news page as of Saturday.
