puget sound

The Puget Sound’s decades-long boom looks unmistakably different: regional job growth has stalled and, by one measure, gone into reverse — forcing Seattle and its neighbors to confront an uncomfortable question about what comes after the tech‑driven “prosperity bomb.” The Puget Sound Regional...

Microsoft’s announcement that Puget Sound employees who live within 50 miles of a Microsoft office will be expected in the office three days a week by the end of February 2026 is a decisive reset of hybrid norms at one of Big Tech’s most consequential firms — and it changes the framing of...

Microsoft’s latest internal reset pairs a sweeping return‑to‑office baseline with a near‑immediate tightening of how employees may speak, gather, and access company space — a package of changes that recasts the company’s post‑pandemic workplace model as an operational lever for “intensity” in AI...

Microsoft’s internal playbook has shifted sharply: in the space of weeks the company moved to narrow open employee forums, tighten campus access after a high‑profile sit‑in, and set a firm, phased requirement that many staff spend at least three days a week in the office — a package of changes...

Microsoft’s most consequential posture change on hybrid work since the pandemic landed this week: the company will require many employees who live within commuting distance of a Microsoft office to be onsite at least three days per week, rolling the policy out in phases that begin with the Puget...

In January 2025, Microsoft announced a significant initiative to commemorate its 50th anniversary: the AI for Good Open Call. This program is set to distribute $5 million in grants to organizations within Washington state, aiming to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to address pressing...