Amazon To Require More In-Office Work

SEATTLE — Amazon is targeting May 1 as the deadline for most employees to resume working from the office at least three days per week, the company announced Thursday.

In a letter to employees and published online, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy outlined company leadership's latest thinking nearly three years after the pandemic began. Ultimately, Jassy said, corporate brass determined in-person collaboration was more functional than keeping teams more remote.

"Learning from one another is easier in-person," Jassy wrote. "Being able to walk a few feet to somebody's space and ask them how to do something or how they've handled a particular situation is much easier than Chiming or Slacking them. Even Though people can use the instant message function, people just don't do it frequently. This is the primary reason a lot of companies who've returned to the office have done so."

Jassy said company leadership settled on a path forward earlier in the week and wanted to give teams time to adjust to the transition. In addition to the office interactions, Amazon's CEO also cited the economic benefits to businesses located near the company's offices in Seattle and beyond.

"I’m also optimistic that this shift will provide a boost for the thousands of businesses located around our urban headquarter locations in the Puget Sound, Virginia, Nashville, and the dozens of cities around the world where our employees go to the office," he said. "Our communities matter to us, and where we can play a further role in helping them recover from the challenges of the last few years, we’re excited to do so."

Amazon has cut thousands of corporate jobs in recent months, including more than 2,000 positions at its offices in Seattle and Bellevue, citing economic uncertainty