Amazon has announced that corporate employees are now required to work in the office five days a week, according to a memo from CEO Andy Jassy. This decision represents a significant departure from Amazon’s previous requirement for corporate staff to be in the office at least three days a week. The new policy will come into effect starting January 2, 2025.
In conjunction with this change, Amazon is aiming to simplify its corporate structure by reducing the number of managers to “remove layers and flatten organizations,” as stated by Jassy. The company experienced rapid growth in headcount during the pandemic, following which Jassy implemented extensive cost-cutting measures, including the largest layoffs in the company’s history.
Jassy indicated in his communication to employees that these changes are intended to bolster Amazon’s corporate culture and enhance organizational agility. A dedicated email alias, referred to as the “bureaucracy mailbox,” has also been introduced to identify and eliminate unnecessary processes or excessive rules within the company.
Amazon’s CEO emphasized the company’s desire to operate like “the world’s largest startup,” focusing on continual innovation for customers, rapid decision-making, and close-knit collaboration. These adjustments, including the office return mandate and the restructuring efforts, are aimed at fostering a sense of ownership among employees, streamlining decision-making processes, and eliminating bureaucracy.
The company plans to increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers by at least 15% by the end of the first quarter of 2025. This strategy is expected to enhance employees’ ability to act swiftly, empower decision-making at the frontline level, reduce bureaucratic overhead, and ultimately make customer experiences better and easier.
To further these goals, Amazon will revert to pre-pandemic office practices. The benefits of being physically present in the office, as observed over the past 15 months, include easier learning and strengthening of the company’s culture, more effective collaboration and problem-solving, and improved team connectivity.
While remote work will still be permitted in cases of sickness, emergencies, travel, or specific coding tasks, the new policy underscores the importance of regular in-office presence. Additionally, Amazon will reinstate assigned desk arrangements at locations where this was customary before the pandemic, though agile desk arrangements will continue in regions where this approach was previously implemented.
Employees have been given until January 2, 2025, to transition to the new office attendance expectations. Amazon’s Global Real Estate and Facilities team will manage the logistical arrangements and will provide further details as they become available.
Jassy concluded by thanking Amazon’s leaders and support teams for their efforts in implementing these organizational changes. He expressed optimism that these changes will not only achieve the company’s goals but also strengthen its culture and overall effectiveness.
This announcement is part of breaking news and will be updated as more information becomes available.
