AWS CEO Defends Five-Day Office Mandate, Urges Dissenting Staff To Leave

At a recent all-hands meeting, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman addressed employees about the company’s new five-day in-office mandate. Speaking at Amazon’s second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, Garman made it clear that those who disagree with the policy are free to explore opportunities elsewhere. He emphasised that in-person collaboration is key to fostering Amazon’s innovation and preserving its workplace culture.

“If there are people who don’t work well in that environment, and don’t want to, that’s OK, there are other companies around,” Garman said, according to a transcript. He acknowledged that while some employees may prefer remote work, the company believes a collaborative office setting is vital.

Amazon’s new mandate, which takes effect on 2 January, replaces its earlier policy that required corporate employees to be in the office three days a week. The decision has sparked backlash among some staff, with around 37,000 employees joining an internal Slack channel to protest the policy. Despite this, Garman noted that most employees are excited about the change, and there is room for occasional flexibility with managerial approval.

Amazon has pointed to in-office work as essential to staying competitive with tech giants like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google, especially in the race to develop generative AI.