The new policy was announced in a blog post and is a change from Amazon’s previous expectations that most staff members would return to the office at least three days a week when offices reopen in January. The message was signed by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and said that it is ultimately for the company directors to determine whether to allow their teams to work remotely.
“We expect that there will be teams that continue working mostly remotely, others that will work some combination of remotely and in the office, and still others that will decide customers are best served having the team work mostly in the office. We’re intentionally not prescribing how many days or which days—this is for Directors to determine with their senior leaders and teams,” Jassy wrote.
While many of Amazon’s 1 million+ global employees cannot work remotely because they perform their duties in the company’s fulfilment and transportation division, around 50,000 tech and office employees work at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. While remote working is often praised for helping to create more ecological sustainability, it is also feared that the profits of nearby restaurants and other businesses will be hurt by Amazon’s shift to increased home working.
Amazon’s announcement follows similar moves from other big tech companies. Last month, Microsoft announced that it has postponed reopening its offices indefinitely.
