Amazon Web Services CEO Defends 5-Day Office Policy, Suggests Employees Who Disagree Can Quit

The policy has frustrated many Amazon employees, who argue that coming to the office leads to time waste on commuting and that the benefits of in-office work lack independent support

Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman defended the controversial new policy requiring employees to be in the office five days a week, stating that those who disagree can seek opportunities elsewhere. During an all-hands meeting for AWS, Garman mentioned that nine out of ten workers he has spoken with are in favour of the policy, which is set to take effect in January, according to a transcript accessed by Reuters.

He indicated that those who do not wish to comply are free to leave.

"If there are people who just don't work well in that environment and don't want to, that's okay; there are other companies around. When we want to really, really innovate on interesting products, I have not seen an ability for us to do that when we're not in-person,” said Garman.

The policy has frustrated many Amazon employees, who argue that coming to the office leads to time waste on commuting and that the benefits of in-office work lack independent support.

Amazon has been implementing a three-day in-office policy, but CEO Andy Jassy announced last month that the company would transition to a five-day requirement to "invent, collaborate, and stay connected."

Some employees who had previously not complied with the policy were informed that they were "voluntarily resigning" and were subsequently locked out of company systems, as per the report.

As the world's second-largest private employer after Walmart, Amazon has adopted a stricter stance on returning to the office than many of its tech counterparts, such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft, which have two- to three-day in-office policies.

"I'm actually quite excited about this change," Garman stated, acknowledging that not everyone shares his enthusiasm. He emphasised that achieving the company's objectives is challenging with the current requirement of only three in-office days.

An Amazon spokesperson did not provide an immediate comment, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Amazon is reportedly set to cut 14,000 managerial positions by early next year as part of a plan to save $3 billion annually, according to a Morgan Stanley report. This initiative aligns with CEO Andy Jassy's strategy to enhance operational efficiency by increasing the ratio of individual contributors to managers by at least 15 per cent by March 2025.