Amazon has rejected a petition by 30,000 employees to retain flexible working.
The petition was sent to the office of CEO Andy Jassy after he insisted that employees come into the office for a minimum of three days per week starting 1st May.
“It’s easier to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture when we’re in the office together most of the time and surrounded by our colleagues. It’s especially true for new people… but it’s also true for people of all tenures at Amazon,” Jassy said in his memo to nearly 1.6 million Amazon staff.
In the petition, 30,000 Amazon employees – almost 10% of its office-based workforce – stated that working from home is beneficial for reasons including work-life balance, affordable housing, inclusion, saved commuting time, childcare and environmental factors, and cited an internal survey that found a preference for remote and flexible work within the company’s workforce.
However, in a letter seen by Business Insider, Amazon’s SVP of people experience and technology, Beth Galetti, insisted the return to the office (RTO) policy would remain.
“Given the large size of our workforce and our wide range of businesses and customers, we recognize this transition may take time, but we are confident it will result in long-term benefits to increasing our ability to deliver for our customers, bolstering our culture, and growing and developing employees.,” she wrote on Wednesday.
