Wednesday, Honda returned a return order to the office for its American staff, according to an internal note seen by Business Insider.
“While Honda faces a rapidly evolving trade environment and increasingly competitive market conditions, we believe that it is essential for partners to return to work mainly in on -site offices. Consequently, from October 6, 2025, Honda requires that partners work on site at least 80% of their work week,” said memo.
The memo indicates that spontaneous interactions between staff members are “essential” to stimulate innovation in the company, and work on site will promote essential collaboration in person and problem solving. It was signed by Kazuhiro Takizawa, President and CEO of American Honda Motors Co., and Kensuke Oe, president of Honda Development & Manufacturing of America.
“This information is shared with partners today to provide as long as possible to start preparing for this transition,” continues the memo. “Simultaneously, Honda is an assessment of the impact of this change, including cafeterias and common spaces, as well as to study other articles related to employment to facilitate the transition and prepare sites so that the partners can start presenting themselves at the office from July 7, 2025.”
Honda employs 30,000 partners in the United States, with manufacturing factories across the country, including Alabama, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina and South and Georgia, according to its statistics on public employment. Seventy-five percent of these employees work in manufacturing and 24% in sales, research and development and finance. We do not know exactly how many Honda employees are remote workers.
“We understand that the change of work style is difficult, and the partners will probably have many questions now and in the coming months,” said the memo. “But, we believe that it will make Honda an even stronger and more competitive business for the future.”
When reached by Business Insider, a spokesperson for Honda confirmed the RTO prescription and its deadline of October 6.
“From October 6, Honda will return to a majority on-site work style forcing our partners to work on site 80% of the time,” said the spokesperson. “This decision is motivated by the rapid trade environment, which requires increased collaboration and innovation which, in our view, could be carried out thanks to teamwork in person. Our working policy will continue to provide our partners with flexibility to work remotely up to 20% of the time.”
With her note on Wednesday, Honda joins a list of large companies, including Jpmorgan and Amazon, who issued commands from RTO.
Read the complete memo below:
This email is intended for American partners at the American Honda, the American Honda Finance Corp., the American Honda Foundation, Honda Development & Manufacturing of America and Honda Racing Corp. USA. While Honda is faced with a rapidly evolving commercial environment and increasingly competitive market conditions, we believe that it is essential for partners to return to work mainly in on -site offices. Consequently, as of October 6, 2025, Honda requires that partners work on site at least 80% of their work week Increasing opportunities for spontaneous interaction and Y-Gaya style discussions are necessary to stimulate innovation, strengthen our difficult mind and maintain a customer-centered orientation. This is essential to the second Honda foundation. In addition, in accordance with the Honda philosophy, working mainly on the spot increases the probability that the partners appear “on site” to understand the real situation and solve key problems by collaborating with teams, peers and managers. This information is shared with partners today to provide as long as possible to start preparing for this transition. Simultaneously, Honda is an assessment of the impact of this change, including cafeterias and common spaces, as well as the study of other employment articles to facilitate the transition and prepare sites so that partners can start to present themselves at the office from July 7, 2025. We understand that the change of work style is difficult, and the partners will probably have many questions now and in the coming months. But, we believe that it will make Honda an even stronger and more competitive business for the future. We are committed to continuing communication and you will see additional updates to support your team with this transition. If you have any questions, please contact a member of your management team or a local HR Commercial Partner. Thank you for your support. Kazuhiro Takizawa President and Chief Executive Officer, American Honda Motor Co., Chief officer, regional operations in North America Kensuke work President, Honda Development & Manufacturing of America
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