Amazon has made it clear to employees that the period for remote work is over, with AWS CEO Matt Garman saying they can either return to the office or find alternative employment.
This follows the company’s recently announced five-day in-office mandate, which is set to take effect from January 2025.
The company had previously allowed a hybrid work arrangement, requiring staff to be in the office three days per week.
Speaking during an all-hands meeting at Amazon’s second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, Garman emphasised the importance of collaboration and innovation enabled through in-person work.
He noted that employees who prefer remote work could explore other opportunities at companies that offer such arrangements. “We want to work together in an environment that promotes teamwork and innovation, which is hard to achieve remotely,” Garman stated.
This aligns with Amazon’s leadership principles, which Garman argued are best experienced in an office setting. He pointed out that these principles, such as “disagree and commit,” become challenging to follow effectively through virtual meetings.
Garman further noted that many employees he had spoken to were supportive of the policy, with nine out of ten reportedly welcoming the change.
Amazon’s return-to-office policy has been objected to by some employees, particularly those who argue they are just as productive working from home.
It’s been pointed out that the mandate increases commuting time and adds unnecessary pressure on families and caregivers. An internal Slack channel advocating for remote work has garnered support from thousands of Amazon employees.
The decision to enforce a full return to office comes at a time when the company is striving to maintain its competitive edge in key areas such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
While rivals like Microsoft, Meta, and Google have maintained more flexible hybrid work policies, Amazon has taken a different line, with CEO Andy Jassy announcing the return-to-office plan last month.
Despite the resistance from some quarters, Garman describes this new mandate as necessary for Amazon’s continued growth and innovation. He acknowledged that while remote work had been beneficial during the pandemic, the future of Amazon lies in facilitating a more collaborative, in-office culture.
