Amazon Asks Corporate Workers to Relocate as Part of Return-to-Office Policy
In a move to enforce its return-to-office policy, Amazon is requesting some corporate workers to relocate to different cities. The policy requires employees to be present in the office for three days a week. While the tech giant has confirmed the relocations, it has not commented on reports suggesting that workers in smaller offices will be required to move to larger cities where the main offices are located.
Although Amazon has not provided specific details regarding the number of employees affected by the relocations, spokesperson Brad Glasser stated that the company will offer “relocation benefits” to those asked to move. Additionally, Amazon will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
Glasser emphasized the positive outcomes of increased in-person collaboration and connections resulting from employees working together for at least three days per week. He mentioned that feedback from employees and businesses surrounding their offices has been encouraging. Glasser also stated that Amazon is continuously exploring ways to bring more teams together in the same locations and will directly communicate decisions that impact employees.
This latest development represents an escalation of Amazon’s efforts to bring workers back to the office. In February, the company introduced a policy requiring employees to be physically present for three days a week, which went into effect in May. The implementation of this policy led to protests by hundreds of corporate workers outside Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. Previously, team leaders had the authority to determine their teams’ work arrangements.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy explained that the decision to bring workers back was based on observations during the pandemic. The senior leadership team assessed employee performance and consulted with leaders from other companies. They concluded that in-person engagement and collaboration were more effective.
According to internal messages cited by Business Insider, Amazon employees who refuse to relocate near their team’s main offices are being given two options: find a new job within the company or leave through a voluntary resignation. Over the past few months, the company has already eliminated 27,000 jobs.
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