Amazon tech employees are urging Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to reconsider his new return-to-office mandate, CNBC reported Feb. 21.
On Feb. 17, 14,000 Amazon employees joined a Slack channel advocating for remote work and to share their concerns about the new return-to-work policy, which requires employees to work in-person three days a week starting May 1.
The employees also created a petition, addressed to Jassy and Amazon's leadership team that calls for dropping the new policy, as employees allege that it "runs contrary" to Amazon's stances on diversity and inclusion, affordable housing and sustainability.
"We, the undersigned, call for Amazon to protect its role and status as a global retail and tech leader by immediately canceling the RTO policy and issuing a new policy that allows employees to work remotely or more flexibly, if they choose to do so, as their team and job role permits," the draft reads.
Mr. Jassy argued that he and his leadership team decided it would be easier for employees to collaborate and invent together in-person.
Remote workers and employees who moved during the pandemic, are now unsure about their future with the company.
Currently, Amazon hasn't addressed whether remote employees will be asked to relocate, but Mr. Jassy said that there will be "a small minority" of exceptions to the new policy.