Amazon is pushing for its employees to return to the office, and some have been informed that if they want to stay employed, they must move to an office hub situated in another state. A few members of staff revealed to CNBC that instead of taking their family away from their home or canceling their housing lease, they have decided to resign. A specific worker has been given a timeline, specifying they must transfer by the first 6 months of 2024.
Amazon is taking a hard line with some of its employees, forcing them to relocate to one of its central hubs or face the prospect of finding a new job. Sources told CNBC that some are making the difficult decision to quit, rather than comply with the new requirement. An employee in Texas, who was initially hired in a remote role, said management had previously promised the situation would remain the same regardless of the company-wide return-to-office mandate. However, the team was told in July they would have to move to a hub city, such as Seattle, New York, Austin, Texas, or Arlington, Virginia, by the first half of 2024, without any assurance of a salary increase. The individual, who chose to leave the company, asked to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisal. Other affected staffers also expressed their worries to CNBC without using their names.Amazon confirmed the relocation policy, saying it applies to only a small portion of its 350,000-person workforce. According to a spokesperson, each team determines its own list of hub cities and relocation benefits are available for those who have to move. The spokesperson further commented that individuals should speak with their HR business partner or manager if they need more information.The policy has sparked backlash from company employees who had to adjust to remote working during the pandemic. In May, Amazon required staffers to spend at least three days in the office, which elicited a protest at the company's Seattle headquarters. At the same time, Amazon laid off 27,000 people, resulting in further criticism.The e-commerce giant has also reduced other benefits, such as shuttering its free coffee shops and lowering the amount it will reimburse for parking. Still, Amazon stated it reimburses public transport costs and offers free commuter and campus shuttles.
Amazon's return-to-office mandate has been a difficult issue to address and difficult to enforce. The tech company recently sent out a memo to some staff stating that they were not "attending the office three or more days a week," as seen in a copy of the memo acquired by CNBC. Despite some individuals meeting the standard, and others having taken previously approved vacation or sick leave, the notification was still sent out. As a result, employees have expressed their aggravation via an internal support ticket, confirmed by Amazon. The company noted, in response, that the notice was sent to those who had been present fewer than three days a week in the past eight or four weeks; and they asked that any employees who feel they may have received this email in error must contact their manager to have their circumstances accurately reflected. Amazon further detailed that their intention in reinstating the office mandate was to enhance company culture, and that they have been supporting people through the transition. Lastly, they restated their expectation that personnel join their teams at least three days in the office.
Amazon has asked affected employees to move to one of the designated hubs, which could be Seattle, Arlington, New York, Chicago, San Francisco or an additional main office. This is a different approach to the company's moves during the pandemic, when recruiting outside of Seattle and Silicon Valley was stepped up, and planned expansion in Phoenix, Dallas, and San Diego was announced. It is said the employees find this requirement to be rigorous and disruptive to their household situations. In some cases, they would have to break their housing lease, or move their children to a new school.
Individually, Amazon has informed the staff members, yet there has been no formal communication to the larger workforce. In late July, managers began informing the employees that they would soon need to work from one of the main offices and they were offered a range of three options; relocate, find a different job internally, or resign.
Except for relocating, the alternative choices are not so easily accessible. All corporate hiring was suspended last November as part of cost-cutting efforts, and employees mentioned they were not able to find anything in the current office related to their expertise. Even though companies, particularly in the tech industry, have reduced staff for the past year due to rising inflation and economic instability, leaving Amazon is a tough decision.
In some cases, getting around the relocation requirement has been done by utilizing a family member's address near an Amazon office, or having employees agree to relocate and then use the allotted time in order to seek another employment opportunity. The Colorado-based employee was asked to move and noted that Amazon's overall effort to get people into the office makes it seem as if the leadership is attempting to make it less enjoyable to work there.
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