Home » Employment News » Apple’s director of machine learning resigns over return to office
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The director of machine learning at Apple left the company's due to a new policy on returning to the office.
Ian Goodfellow left his position after more than three years.
He stated that his resignation was motivated in part by Apple's active plans to return to in-person work.
The tech titan's plans called for all employees to work from the office at least one day per week by Monday, April 11
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Staff will be expected to go into offices for a minimum of three days per week by Monday, May 23.
Goodfellow expressed his strong belief in the staff email that ‘more flexibility would prove to be the 'best policy' for his entire team.
Goodfellow said in the email: “I believe strongly that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team,”
According to The Verge's Zoe Schiffer, he was formerly one of Google's top employees in the field of artificial intelligence.
He joined Apple as part of the company’s bid to enhance its existing machine learning, along with the AI technology department.
Goodfellow joined Apple as Director of Machine Learning in the Special Projects Group in March 2019. At Google, he was in the role of a senior staff research scientist and was known for GANS or Generative Adversarial Networks.
Two competing neural networks were pitted against one another to improve the accuracy of their systems.
Employees of the tech company began returning to Apple Park last month, in preparation for the three-day in-office work policy that will begin on Monday, May 23.
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Clearly, some employees have been dissatisfied with the idea to return to in-person work so frequently.
A poll of a small group of employees indicated that the majority of them were actively looking for work elsewhere.
Clearly, the policy of returning to work, as well as the likelihood of the virus spreading, were two major factors in this mindset. Furthermore, factors such as hostile business culture and a dismal work-life balance factor played a role in their choice to leave.
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.”
Source: TechStory
