Amazon CEO Ditches Hybrid Work, Mandates Full Office Return By 2025

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has revealed that starting January 2, 2025, corporate employees will be required to work from the office five days a week, marking an end to the company’s current hybrid work policy. In a memo to staff, Jassy explained that the company is reverting to pre-pandemic office norms after finding benefits in in-person collaboration over the last 15 months.

Jassy clarified that while the new policy establishes five-day office work as the default, flexibility will remain for certain situations, such as illness or emergencies. “Before the pandemic, it wasn’t guaranteed that employees could work remotely two days a week, and this will remain true going forward,” he noted, emphasizing the importance of office-based work for stronger team dynamics and innovation.

The new policy affects all corporate employees, with exceptions for those who have pre-approved remote work arrangements or extenuating circumstances. Additionally, Amazon will reintroduce assigned desks at its US headquarters in Puget Sound and Arlington, while European offices will continue using agile desk setups.

Jassy also announced organizational changes aimed at increasing efficiency, including a plan to boost the ratio of individual contributors to managers by 15% by Q1 2025. A “Bureaucracy Mailbox” will be introduced for employees to flag unnecessary processes.

Acknowledging potential resistance, Jassy gave employees over three months to adjust to the change. Previous return-to-office policies had triggered protests at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters in May 2023.