Amazon
Amazon is a multinational technology firm with operations in the United States that specializes in cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. One of the most valuable brands in the world, it has been called “one of the most significant economic and cultural forces in the globe”
Amazon will require its corporate employees to return to the office at least three days a week. CEO Andy Jassy announced the policy Friday in a memo to staff. It marks a shift from Amazon’s current policy of allowing leaders to determine how their teams work. The change will go into effect on May 1.
Many companies have been calling their employees back to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to operate virtually. Last month, Starbucks told its corporate employees to plan to work from the office three days a week. Disney is asking employees to plan for four in-office days starting in March. And Walmart said this week that it would require its tech teams to plan regular in-office work days.
Amazon: Chief Executive Officer Statement
Jassy said in his memo that Amazon made its decision after observing what worked during the pandemic. Among other things, he said that the senior leadership team watched how the staff performed and talked to leaders at other companies. He said they concluded employees tended to be more engaged in person and collaborate more efficiently. The move could help local economies, he said.
“I’m also optimistic that this shift will boost the thousands of businesses located around our urban headquarters in Puget Sound, Virginia, Nashville, and the dozens of cities around the world where our employees go to the office,” Jassy wrote.
Jassy said that the details of the policy hadn’t been finalized. He said he wanted to share the decision — made at a meeting of the company’s senior leadership team this week — as early as possible. He said there will be certain roles that will be exempted from the policy, “but that will be a small minority.”
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Last month, Amazon announced it would trim 18,000 corporate positions to prune payrolls that rapidly expanded during the pandemic lockdown. Other big tech companies, including Salesforce and Google, have been doing the same.
