- Some Amazon offices won’t be ready to fully accommodate employees until September, an internal note said.
- Amazon announced in February that employees should come into the office three times a week, starting in May.
- The delayed office readiness dates for some locations show Amazon may have rushed its return-to-office announcement.
Amazon’s leadership has said they want all employees back in the office at least three times a week starting in May. But many of the company’s buildings won’t be ready to accommodate their full slate of employees for that level of use for months after the deadline. It’s a sign that Amazon may have rushed its return-to-office announcement.
An internal guideline titled “Building Readiness Dates,” obtained by Insider, lists Amazon’s office locations and the dates they are expected to be fully “ready” to support the company’s return-to-office mandate.
For example, five out of the six Amazon corporate offices in New York City and four of the six Austin locations have a readiness date of September 1, 2023. Offices in Cupertino and East Palo Alto also won’t be fully ready until September, while all of the offices in Atlanta and Tempe have July 1, 2023 as the readiness date. Most other locations, including those in Boston, Irvine, and Chicago, don’t have a date set yet, as Amazon plans to update it by the end of this week, according to the memo.
Meanwhile, other office locations appear ready to welcome back employees in time. Most offices around the Seattle headquarters area and those near the second headquarters in Arlington, VA, have readiness dates in May.
The delayed office readiness of some locations shows how unprepared Amazon may have been for the RTO mandate announced in February. It’s not clear yet, and employees Insider spoke to don’t yet know, what the implications are for employees assigned to offices not yet ready to fully accept them. The mandate may be rolled out selectively, as office locations become ready.
As Insider previously reported, the decision caught many employees off-guard, including some of its senior executives, causing a frantic response to the change. Over 30,000 employees signed an internal petition opposing the new RTO policy, which Amazon’s HR boss later flatly rejected.
Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy said when announcing the mandate in February that the change was necessary because “collaborating and inventing is easier and more effective” when working in person, but also said the company hasn’t worked out “all the execution details yet.”
Amazon’s office buildings are currently open to all employees to work anytime. But the company is reviewing each building’s “networks, Wi-Fi access, desktop equipment, conference room setups, and other amenities as needed” to determine its readiness, according to the memo.
“In the coming days, check this page for your building’s specific readiness date. If your building is marked ‘Ready,’ it has been confirmed to be ready in May to support the capacity and network demands of Amazonians returning 3+ days per week,” said the memo, obtained by Insider.
In an email to Insider, Amazon’s spokesperson said the different readiness dates are needed to “make the necessary accommodations for everyone.” Most offices globally will be ready by September, the spokesperson added.
“Our goal is to ensure our offices provide a welcoming experience for our employees and while the dates for full return will vary by location, we’ll continue to keep employees updated and share new information when it’s available,” the spokesperson said.
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