Amazon corporate employees have planned to revolt by ‘soft quitting’ after CEO Andy Jassy announced that they all must return to the office five days a week.
On Monday, Jassy, 56, who Jeff Bezos appointed as his successor in July 2021, issued a statement to all staffers and said they will be required to work in the office ‘the way we were before the onset of COVID.’
Angry workers quickly reacted to the new change in policy as some of them agreed to ‘soft quit’ which means to slowly detach themselves from their tasks before moving on to a new job.
‘Three years at Amazon currently. Probably going to soft quit and get a new job. F*** Jassy,’ a frustrated employee posted on Reddit.
‘Let people work from home, you don’t need the stock to be above $200 all the time.’
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, 56, announced Monday that employees will be expected to come into the office five days a week starting in January. (pictured: Jassy at Amazon Prime Video premiere in 2022)
Angry workers quickly reacted to the new change in policy as some of them agreed to ‘soft quit’, or detach themselves from their tasks before moving on to a new job. (pictured: Amazon corporate office building in Sunnyvale, California)
Starting on January 2, 2025, corporate employees will be expected to come into the office for a typical work week ‘outside of extenuating circumstances’ or if they previously have a ‘remote Work Exception approved’ through their supervisors, Jassy said.
‘Before the pandemic, it was not a given that folks could work remotely two days a week, and that will also be true moving forward – our expectation is that people will be in the office outside of extenuating circumstances,’ Jassy, who started working at the $1.94trillion company in 1997, wrote.
The CEO explained that the new change will ‘better set up’ employees to ‘invent, collaborate and be connected’ to each other in order to give the best service to customers and the business as a whole.
‘We want to operate like the world’s largest startup,’ Jassy said.
‘That means having a passion for constantly inventing for customers, strong urgency (for most big opportunities, it’s a race!), high ownership, fast decision-making, scrappiness and frugality, deeply-connected collaboration (you need to be joined at the hip with your teammates when inventing and solving hard problems), and a shared commitment to each other.’
Jassy said all employees will be are required to work in the office ‘the way we were before the onset of COVID’
A slew of disgruntled employees suggested that the new policy is designed to push workers out.
‘What better way to cut jobs than to force everyone back into the office and watch people quit in droves,’ one wrote.
Another said: ‘Sweat shop company and culture! I hope their workforce just quits.’
A commenter said: ‘ “You know, I think everybody should return to the office”, said the guy, sitting on a couch, on his yacht, floating around the Mediterranean.’
‘Everybody clap, large companies have figured out a way to do layoffs without calling it that or having to deal with legal/financial consequences,’ another wrote.
Meanwhile, others told annoyed employees to ‘suck it up’ and head to the office.
‘Quit complaining. If you don’t like it, find a different job. Suck it up like the rest of us,’ one said.
‘Lucky them. My sorry a** was returned to the office in October of 2020. At least I had the Summer…,’ wrote another.
He touched on the fact that the company has already benefited in the last 15 months after employees were told they had to be in the office three days a week.
Last August Jassy said company workers who defied his directive to return to the office for a minimum of three days a week should leave the company altogether.
He touched on the fact that the company has already benefited in the last 15 months after employees were told they had to be in the office three days a week
During a ‘fishbowl’ meeting recording, obtained by Insider, he expressed frustration over employees not taking his return-to-office policy seriously and told those refusing to come in for the three-day minimum: ‘It’s probably not going to work out for you.’
‘It’s past the time to disagree and commit.’ Jassy said during the call, noting that he believed it is no longer feasible for the entire team to work remotely while others choose not to.
In his latest message, Jassy also said that Amazon plans to cut back on the amount of managers at the company in order to ‘remove layers and flatten organizations.’
‘So, we’re asking each s-team organization to increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers by at least 15% by the end of Q1 2025.
‘Having fewer managers will remove layers and flatten organizations more than they are today,’ he explained.
Jassy ended his announcement saying he’s ‘optimistic’ about the new changes that ‘will better help us accomplish these goals while strengthening our culture and the effectiveness of our teams.’
When asked about employees threatening to ‘soft quit’ because of the new work- from-home policy, Amazon told DailyMail.com to refer to Jassy’s original announcement and did not comment on employee’s reactions.
