- Amazon CEO Andy Jassy denies claims of ‘backdoor layoffs’
- The company will maintain a full-time RTO policy from January 2, 2025
- 500 employees have already signed a petition against the change
Not long after hundreds of Amazon employees signed a petition against the company’s proposed five-day return-to-office policy, CEO Andy Jassy denied claims that the mandate was put in place to quietly push employees away.
At a recent all-hands meeting (via CNBC), Jassy rejected claims that the RTO policy is a ‘backdoor layoff’, adding that the push for in-person working would strengthen Amazon’s culture.
The news follows an announcement in September 2024 detailing the new full-time RTO plans, which will come into effect from January 2, 2025.
Amazon’s RTO policy is not a ‘backdoor dismissal’
“A number of people I’ve seen theorize that the reason we did this is a backdoor layoff, or we made some kind of deal with the city or cities, and so we let people come back and be together more often. Jassy stated.
Amazon workers’ reaction is understandable, as the company has laid off about 27,000 workers since layoffs in the tech sector skyrocketed in 2022.
The recent petition against the company’s RTO mandate, signed by about 500 employees, alleged that AWS CEO Matt Garman’s claims that many employees agreed with the change were false. Before that, Garman also reportedly told employees who were unhappy with the change to consider leaving the company altogether.
Compared to the current three-day policy, the change to full-time office hours marks a significant shift in the technology sector. Many of Amazon’s rivals are still working on three-day mandates.
Like Amazon, LGBTQ dating app Grindr recently faced criticism for its RTO policy. While specific details about the RTO policy have not been confirmed, employees claimed they were given two weeks to move closer to a hub. More than 80 people were laid off, many of whom were concerned about accessibility.