The company I work for was “coerced” into forcing more people back into the office due to pressure from the city and the local chamber of commerce.

I say coerce, because there are absolutely people in middle and upper management who feel the need to preside over their little fiefdoms and were more than happy to relay this info as a convenient way to deflect criticism. “Don’t blame us, the city would start making things difficult for us if our occupancy numbers stayed so low. We don’t want our taxes going up.”

What was the pressure?

that doesn't sound coerced.

That just sounds like people who dont want to pay their fair share of taxes.

"Oh no, we now need to fund services we don't get downtown by taxing the people who make money off our civilization."