Amazon orders staff back to the office

Amazon has ordered all its employees back to the office, becoming the latest tech giant to signal the end of the working from home era.

The US retail giant will now require employees to work from the office three days a week, ending the previous guidance from 2021 that left decisions up to line managers.

According to chief executive Andy Jassy, a “small minority” of employees will be exempt from the new policy, including for some sales and customer support jobs.

In a memo to employees posted on Amazon’s corporate blog on Friday, Mr Jassy said: “Teams tend to be better connected to one another when they see each other in person more frequently.

“There is something about being face-to-face with somebody, looking them in the eye and seeing they’re fully immersed in whatever you’re discussing that bonds people together.”

The push to get staff back to the office follows similar moves by Disney and Apple, and comes as Amazon battles to stop a slowdown in its business.

The tech giant delivered lower than expected growth forecasts in its most recent financial results, which saw its online retail division record losses as spending at its core business dropped.

$200bn was wiped from its market value in just one day after Amazon announced the results.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to axe 18,000 jobs, the largest number in the company’s history, in hopes of cutting costs.

Amazon plans to shut three UK warehouses, putting 1,200 jobs at risk, as demand here slows.

Amazon’s boss isn’t the only one arguing that office work encourages better connections between employees.

In a recent memo summoning Disney staff back to the office four days a week, chief executive Bob Iger said: “Creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney.

“And in a creative business like ours nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe and create with peers that comes from being physically together.”

Last summer, Apple chief executive Tim Cook similarly ordered staff located near Apple’s California HQ to return to the office for three days per week.

In an email to Apple workers, he said the change would “enhance our ability to work flexibly, while preserving the in-person collaboration that is so essential to our culture”.