Amazon workers are planning to revolt by taking “soft layoffs” after CEO Andy Jassy announced they must all return to the office five days a week.
On Monday, Jassy, 56, who Jeff Bezos named as his successor in July 2021, a statement issued to all employees and said that they should now work in the office ‘as we did before the start of COVID.’
Angry employees reacted quickly to the new policy change, with some agreeing to a “soft quit” arrangement, which involves slowly easing out of their duties before moving on to a new job.
‘3 years at Amazon now. I’m probably going to soft quit and find a new job. F*** Jassy,’ one frustrated employee posted on Reddit.
“Let people work from home, stocks don’t always have to be above $200.”
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 the 2022 premiere of Amazon Prime Video)
Angry workers reacted quickly to the new policy change, as some of them agreed to a “soft quit” arrangement or stepped back from their duties before moving on to new jobs. (Pictured: Amazon headquarters in Sunnyvale, California)
Starting January 2, 2025, employees will be expected to come into the office for a normal workweek “except in exceptional circumstances” or if they have previously been approved by their supervisors for a “work from home exception,” Jassy said.
“Before the pandemic, it wasn’t a given that people could work remotely two days a week, and it won’t be a given going forward. We expect people to stay in the office outside of extraordinary circumstances,” wrote Jassy, who joined the $1.94 trillion company in 1997.
The CEO explained that the new change will make employees “better equipped” to “invent, collaborate and connect” to provide the best service to customers and the company as a whole.
“We want to operate as the largest startup in the world,” Jassy said.
‘That means you have a passion for constantly creating something for customers, a strong sense of urgency (most big opportunities are a race!), lots of ownership, fast decision-making, frugality, and strong collaboration (you must be inseparable from your teammates in creating and solving tough problems), and a shared commitment to each other.’
Jassy said all employees should work in the office ‘in the same way as before the start of COVID’
A large number of disgruntled employees suggested that the new policy is designed to drive workers away.
“What better way to cut jobs than to send everyone back to the office and watch people resign en masse,” one wrote.
Another said: ‘A company with a sweatshop culture! I hope their employees just quit.’
A commentator said: ‘You know, I think everyone should go back to the office,’ the man said as he sat on a bench, on his yacht, sailing in the Mediterranean.’
“Everyone is clapping, big companies have found a way to fire people without having to say so or face any legal/financial consequences,” wrote another.
Meanwhile, others told irritated workers to “just accept it” and go to the office.
“Stop complaining. If you don’t like it, get another job. Suck it up like the rest of us,” said one.
‘What lucky people. My poor ass is back in the office in October 2020. At least I had a summer…,’ wrote another.
He stressed that the company has already benefited from the measures its employees had to take to be in the office three days a week over the past 15 months.
Last August, Jassy said employees who ignored his directive to come to the office at least three days a week would have to leave the company altogether.
He stressed that the company has already benefited over the past 15 months from employees being told to be in the office three days a week.
During a recording of a ‘fishbowl’ meeting, obtained by InsiderHe expressed frustration that employees were not taking his return-to-office policy seriously, telling those who refused to come in for at least three days: “It’s probably not going to work for you.”
“It’s past the point of disagreeing and committing,” Jassy said during the call, noting that he no longer sees it as feasible for the entire team to work remotely, while others choose not to.
In his latest post, Jassy also said that Amazon plans to reduce the number of managers at the company to “remove layers and flatten organizations.”
‘We therefore ask every s-team organization to increase the ratio of individual employees to managers by at least 15% by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
“When you have fewer managers, the layers disappear and organizations become flatter than they are now,” he explained.
Jassy concluded his announcement by saying he is “optimistic” about the new changes that “will better help us achieve these goals while strengthening our culture and the effectiveness of our teams.”
When asked about employees threatening “soft termination” over the new work-from-home policy, Amazon told DailyMail.com it had to refer to Jassy’s original announcement and did not comment on the employees’ reactions.