The 5-day office mandate is not a “backdoor layoff” | Wilnesh News

Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy dismissed speculation that the company’s five-day mandate was an effort to further reduce staff or appease city officials.

“A lot of people I’ve met believe that the reason we’re doing this is because of backdoor layoffs or that we have some kind of agreement with one or more cities and that’s why we’re getting people back together more often,” according to CNBC “I can tell you that neither statement is true,” Jassy said during Tuesday’s plenary session. “

Amazon announced the new licensing in September. The company’s previous return-to-work stance required corporate employees to be in the office at least three days a week. Employees have until January 2 to comply with the new policy.

The order prompted a backlash from some Amazon employees, who said they could be just as productive working from home or in a hybrid work environment as they were in the office. Others said the mandate was consistent with Jassy’s ongoing cost-cutting efforts and suggested it was a means to force attrition. Amazon has laid off more than 27,000 employees since the beginning of 2022.

An Amazon spokesman pointed to Jassy’s memo announcing his five-day term.

An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that the company offers a variety of benefits and services for employees commuting, which vary by location but include free shuttles, subsidized parking, reimbursable public transportation, and subsidized ride and bike-related expenses.

Jassy’s comments on Tuesday were earlier reported by Reuters.

“This is not a cost play for us,” Jassy said at the meeting, which coincided with Election Day. “It’s about our culture and strengthening our culture.”

Announcing the mission, Jassy said returning to the office full-time will allow Amazon “to better invent, collaborate, and connect with each other and our culture enough to deliver the absolute best to customers and our customers.” Serve”. Business. “

According to previous reports by CNBC, Amazon’s head of cloud computing Matt Garman also defended the decision last month, saying that employees who disagree with the company’s new policies can leave. Garman also said he’s been discussing the mandate with employees and “nine out of 10 people are actually very excited about the change.”

Garman’s comments further angered Amazon employees.

About 500 employees at Amazon’s cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services, sent Garman a letter last week criticizing his comments and questioning the benefits of the five-day term, according to a copy of the letter seen by CNBC.

“We urge you to reconsider your comments and position on the proposed five-day tenure mandate,” the letter said. “Remote and flexible work is a leading opportunity, not a threat, to Amazon. We want to provide recognition to a company that Come and seize this moment to work with companies and leaders who challenge us to reinvent the way we work.”

The letter included anecdotes from AWS employees who detailed how the five-day in-office assignment would impact their “lives and work.” One employee said they were denied accommodations for people with disabilities and told to return to the office, and another said they were recently told to use paid time off to care for a sick family member instead of being allowed to work from home. Another employee said the RTO directive required them to work from an office “200 miles away from my home”.

According to previous reports by CNBC, at least 37,000 employees have joined an internal Slack channel created last year to advocate for remote work and share dissatisfaction with return-to-work instructions. Employees had previously postponed their three-day work deadline, and some went on strike at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters to express dissatisfaction.

Jassy acknowledged Tuesday that the five-day term will be an adjustment for staff.

“I understand that for a lot of people, we’re going to be working together to adjust,” he said.

watch: AWS CEO says employees dissatisfied with 5-day work deadline can leave