When Jim returned to Scranton in The Office season 3, he brought with him a group of transfers from the Dunder Mifflin Stamford branch, with every character quitting before the end of the series. At the end of The Office season 2, Jim reveals that he’s transferring to the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin for a promotion, with the real reason being that he needed to get over Pam. However, Jim’s stint in Connecticut is short-lived, with the old salesman and several of his new coworkers being transferred to Scranton quickly into The Office season 3 when the two branches merge.
While Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch didn’t see too much turnover through The Office’s nine seasons, a significant number of resignations occurred on behalf of those who came from Stamford. The beginning of The Office season 3 sees Michael and the Scranton branch under duress when they believe they’re being shut down, with corporate suggesting that only a few of the Scranton employees would transfer over to Stamford for a merger. However, the plan changes when Stamford’s Regional Manager Josh Porter reveals he’s leaving Dunder Mifflin for a higher position at Staples. Instead, Stamford is the branch that has to clean house, with Michael Scott remaining regional manager while a few Stamford employees move to Scranton.
As exciting as Michael’s welcome video was in The Office’s season 3 episode “The Merger,” the Scranton branch isn’t an easy workplace to join. Consequently, The Office’s Stamford branch employees, bar the original Scranton salesman Jim Halpert, would all leave the workplace before the end of season 9. Here’s a breakdown of every original Stamford branch character who transferred to Scranton in The Office season 3, and why they all eventually quit or left the location.
Andy Bernard
First introduced as the Stamford branch’s resident bootlicker, Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) was a salesman who, like Dwight, always vied for the number two position at his Dunder Mifflin branches. The Cornell grad was also the character to give Jim Halpert the nickname “Big Tuna,” which stuck for the rest of the series. Upon moving over to Scranton in The Office’s merger, Andy continued to kiss up to Michael Scott and had a notable feud with Dwight Schrute, though his anger management struggles would see him missing for much of season 3.
However, Andy remained at the Scranton branch longer than any other Stamford transfer, with the musically-inclined character even beating his Scranton coworkers to the Regional Manager position after Michael Scott’s departure. While Andy would be temporarily fired in The Office season 9, David Wallace purchasing Dunder Mifflin would lead to his position being reinstated. Andy would continue to be the manager at Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch until briefly quitting, then temporarily returning as a salesman. Andy Bernard would finally quit the Scranton branch for good at the end of The Office season 9, when he decided to pursue his singing dreams and soon after be hired in the admissions office of Cornell University.
Karen Filippelli
Jim’s brief girlfriend Karen Filippelli lasted the second-longest at Scranton branch, with her exit being abrupt. When Jim transferred to Stamford, he quickly began a rapport with Karen, a sales representative who clearly had eyes for him early on. Karen was initially hesitant to transfer to The Office’s Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch until Jim suggested she do so, with the two quickly forming a relationship upon moving to Scranton. Karen and Jim kept dating throughout The Office season 3 until both decided to apply for Jan’s old Dunder Mifflin corporate job. Jim left mid-interview to ask Pam on a date, with The Office revealing at the beginning of season 4 that Karen didn’t get the job and the two broke up.
While Karen said she wasn’t going to leave Scranton just because she and Jim broke up, her desk was packed up the next day. It was assumed that Karen had simply quit and searched for a job at a new company, but The Office season 4 later revealed that she was hired as the Regional Manager at Dunder Mifflin’s Utica branch. Although she didn’t leave Dunder Mifflin, Rashida Jones’ Karen Filippelli left Scranton to escape her goofy boss and her former love triangle with Jim and Pam.
Hannah Smoterich-Barr
Surprisingly, The Office’s Stamford branch character Hannah lasted about halfway through season 3, being the third transfer to quit the Scranton branch. One of Stamford’s oddest transfer characters, the often irritated Hannah was primarily known at Dunder Mifflin Scranton for bringing her baby to work. While Hannah was mostly in the background of The Office’s episodes, she always seemed to be annoyed by Michael’s antics and the behavior of her new coworkers, primarily the eccentric Creed Bratton. Hannah’s last appearance as a Dunder Mifflin Scranton accountant was The Office’s season 3 episode “A Benihana Christmas” (Steve Carell's favorite), with Pam revealing in the next episode that she quit because of the struggles of being a working mother.
Martin Nash
In one of The Office’s most iconic episodes, Dunder Mifflin Scranton learns all about their new coworker Martin Nash, who is revealed by Michael to have been a former convict. Jan explains that Stamford’s old Regional Manager Josh Porter hired Martin, with Dunder Mifflin receiving money for hiring an ex-convict. Michael’s attempts at seeing that the Supplier Relations employee isn’t ostracized make the situation worse, with Martin quitting the Scranton branch at the end of the episode. Michael becomes hurt when Martin seemingly discusses how much better prison was than Dunder Mifflin, leading the Regional Manager to put on his offensive “Prison Mike” alter ego in the conference room. Michael’s charade makes Martin extremely uncomfortable in the workplace, with The Office’s second Stamford transfer biting the dust.
Tony Gardner
The first of The Office’s Stamford branch transfer characters to quit was Tony Gardner, a sales representative who was made extremely uncomfortable by none other than Michael Scott. On his first day at the Scranton branch, Michael had all of the new transfers sit on chairs on top of the conference room table, with Tony repeatedly explaining that he wasn’t comfortable doing so. Michael and Dwight then try to physically lift Tony onto the table in a demeaning manner, leading Tony to declare that he isn’t comfortable with Michael’s management style, quitting on the spot. The boss's pride takes a hit when Tony quits, so Michael Scott fires him from Dunder Mifflin instead, with Jan getting angry because now Dunder Mifflin has to pay him severance. While Tony was the first of The Office’s Stamford characters to get out of Scranton, all of his fellow transfers would quit in due time.