Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has issued a stern warning to employees who are resisting the company’s return-to-office mandate, stating that “it’s probably not going to work out for you.”
Jassy made these comments during a recent meeting, expressing frustration that some employees were not taking the return-to-office directive seriously.
The meeting, known internally as a “fishbowl” meeting, did not provide specific data that motivated Jassy’s decision to require employees to return to the office. Instead, he referred to it as a “judgment” call. Jassy further indicated that employees who disagreed with this decision were welcome to seek employment elsewhere.
“It’s past the time to disagree and commit,” Jassy emphasized. “And if you can’t disagree and commit, I also understand that, but it’s probably not going to work out for you at Amazon because we are going back to the office at least three days a week.”
Return to office
Jassy stated that he had spoken to numerous other CEOs, and the majority of them favored having their employees return to the office.
Last month, Amazon confirmed that it was requiring some corporate workers to relocate to different cities as part of its return-to-office policy. Employees who refused to relocate near the main offices of their teams were given the option to find a new job within the company or leave through a “voluntary resignation” process.
The return-to-office policy took effect on May 1, requiring corporate employees to work in the office for at least three days per week.
This decision was met with resistance earlier in the year when around 30,000 workers signed a petition urging Jassy to cancel the directive. Jassy justified the decision by stating that Amazon had observed increased employee engagement and improved collaboration in person during the pandemic.
Amazon, with more than 1.5 million employees worldwide, previously announced layoffs of 27,000 workers as part of cost-cutting measures.
