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Mass Layoffs at Itaú Reignite Debate on the Future of Remote Work in Brazil, Amid Legal Pressures, Labor Disputes, and Global Trend of Returning to Offices.
The layoff of about 1,000 employees from Itaú Unibanco on September 8, 2025, most of whom were linked to the remote or hybrid regime, has reignited the debate about the limits and future of work outside the office.
The bank claims that the layoffs were not due to productivity goals but rather non-compliance with working hours and unjustified overtime records, after four months of monitoring “digital activity” in internal systems.
The cut represents 1.04% of the workforce of approximately 95,700 employees, according to reports from Poder360.
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What Happened at Itaú and How the Check Was Done
According to a statement sent to the press, the institution cross-referenced activity in corporate software with the formalized home office hours and the accumulation of overtime.
In cases classified as critical, the reports indicated recurring patterns of activity of about 20% of the day in the systems, still with additional hours logged “without justifiable cause.”
The bank emphasizes that the layoffs were not based on “productivity metrics” but on non-compliance with working hours and formal inconsistencies.
Labor unions dispute this framing.
Industry representatives claim the company is using productivity as a pretext to end remote work and are calling for a review of the cuts.
There are records of meetings with the Employee Organization Commission (COE) and requests for investigation by the Labor Prosecution Service.
What the Law Says: Return to In-Person and Notice
Brazilian labor legislation supports the employer’s decision to change the telework regime to in-person.
Article 75-C, §2 of the CLT states that the change can occur by employer’s determination, provided there is a minimum transition period of 15 days and formalization through a contract addendum.
This provision was consolidated by Law 14.442/2022, which updated telework rules.
In this line, labor lawyer Tatiana Sant’anna summarizes the extent of managerial power:
“Itaú could simply notify with 15 days’ notice that it would return to the in-person model. It is its right.”
For her, it would be not mandatory to invoke a drop in productivity to provide legal grounds for the decision.
This interpretation finds support in the current wording of the CLT, which conditions the return to prior notification of the employee and formalization of the contractual change.
Transparency, Metrics, and the Risk of Harassment
The right to supervise the working hours and delivery exists, but it comes with the duty of clarity and transparency.
Attorney Fernando Moreira, a specialist in governance and compliance, notes that generic metrics or uncommunicated metrics can open the door to claims of moral harassment.
To avoid litigation, companies need to specify indicators, document monitoring policies, and inform workers in advance about the collection and treatment of data, in accordance with LGPD.
Although bringing teams back to physical structures does not eliminate operational risks, companies have opted to mitigate exposures associated with sensitive data, challenges of tracking working hours, and doubts about exclusive dedication.
In highly regulated environments, such as finance, this strategy tends to gain ground, especially when there are public inquiries about conduct and hour registration.
Global Trend: Pressure for Return and More Rigid Policies
The movement of returning to offices has accelerated again.
Research from Resume Builder indicates that 87% of companies expected to have a return-to-office policy by 2025 — a figure that, while often summarized as “nine out of ten,” is statistically closer to 87% in the 2024 edition of the survey.
Large companies have updated rules.
Microsoft announced on September 9, 2025 the revision of its “flexible” model to three days per week in the office, with phased implementation and completion scheduled by February 2026 in several markets.
The official justification is that more frequent in-person work increases energy, collaboration, and results.
In the pharmaceutical industry, Novo Nordisk decided to return to completely in-person work after announcing reorganization and job cuts.
The guideline, announced on September 11, 2025, was reported by international media and reinforces the retreat from broad remote work policies even in high-tech and R&D sectors.
What Changes for Companies and Workers
Telework has not disappeared, but it is undergoing reconfiguration.
Companies are increasing their use of activity monitoring and explicit performance criteria to support people management decisions.
At the same time, governance and compliance demand rigorous documentation: updated contracts, privacy and information security policies, as well as training to reduce litigation.
Experts see the hybrid model as a balance arrangement, capable of combining integration and quality of life gains without giving up the minimum control required by regulated sectors.
“The hybrid is the perfect balance,” says Tatiana Sant’anna, noting that physical presence restores part of the managerial control desired by employers — as long as monitoring and deliverables rules are clearly agreed upon.
In the specific case of Itaú, the legal key lies less in proving a drop in productivity and more in demonstrating that there were defined parameters, prior knowledge of the employee, and consistency between registered activity and declared working hours.
If these elements are documented, the chance of the company succeeding in individual disputes increases.
If not, the risk of challenges due to harassment or detrimental changes in working conditions increases.
Next Steps: Standardize Rules and Avoid Ambiguities
Companies that adopt or maintain remote work need to standardize communications, align measurable indicators, and avoid vague goals.
For workers, it becomes increasingly important to keep evidence of deliveries, meet working hours, formalize agreements, and clarify availability limits.
In Brazil, the requirement for minimum notice of 15 days and a contract addendum for returning to in-person work remains a legal pillar, while LGPD imposes transparency regarding data collected during home office.
The discussion about the end of home office seems less like a final point and more like a continuous negotiation about controls, costs, and results.
In light of Itaú’s case and the shift of large corporations, the question that arises is straightforward: what objective and verifiable rules should guide remote work so that trust and performance go hand in hand?
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