Amazon asks corporate staff to relocate or quit without severance

Amazon is asking many of its corporate employees to relocate closer to their teams and direct managers, according to The Seattle Times and Bloomberg.

The company is encouraging employees to relocate to key hubs, such as Seattle, Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., sometimes requiring them to move across the country. The change comes as the company continues its embrace of artificial intelligence (AI). CEO Andy Jassy even acknowledged that its work with AI will shrink its workforce over time.

“For more than a year now, some teams have been working to bring their teammates closer together to help them be as effective as possible, but there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and there hasn’t been a change in our approach as a company,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Seattle Times.

Amazon quietly urges corporate staff to move near key offices

Internal discussions reviewed and published by Bloomberg revealed the company’s push for relocation. In one example, a manager gave their team 30 days to decide whether they would move, followed by 60 days to either begin the relocation process or leave the company.

Workers who choose to resign will reportedly not receive severance.

The shift comes after CEO Andy Jassy mandated a return to the office five days a week, while still allowing some flexibility in choosing which Amazon office employees would work from. During the pandemic, the company hired many employees into remote or regional roles based in cities such as New York, Boston, and Austin.

In 2022, Amazon cut 27,000 corporate jobs in its largest round of layoffs to date. Since then, additional smaller cuts have followed. Some employees have speculated whether the relocation initiative is a way for the company to quietly reduce headcount without issuing formal layoffs or severance packages.

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