Amazon Managers Can Now Fire Employees Who Refuse to Work From the Office 3 Days a Week It's the latest update of the company's return-to-office policy.
By Madeline Garfinkle •
Key Takeaways
- Amazon is giving managers the right to fire employees who do not comply with the company's return-to-office requirements.
- Workers must be in the office at least three days a week.
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Amazon is getting serious with its return-to-office policy, and if workers don't start showing up, they'll be shipped out.
In a new update, Amazon is giving managers the authority to terminate employees who fail to work from the office three times a week, Business Insider reported. The revised guidelines were distributed via Amazon's internal portal and viewed by Insider.
"As is the case with any of our policies, we expect our team to follow them and will take appropriate action if someone chooses not to do that," Rob Munoz, an Amazon spokesperson, told Entrepreneur.
The guidelines tell Amazon managers what steps to take when dealing with employees who do not comply with the three-times-a-week in-office mandate.
The process begins with a private conversation between the manager and the employee, during which managers are encouraged to "assume positive intent" and "make high-judgment decisions" to understand the employee's situation. Managers must then document the discussion in a follow-up email.
Related: Amazon Employees Are Fighting on Slack About Returning to the Office
If the employee does not "demonstrate immediate and sustained attendance," a second meeting is held, reinforcing the attendance requirement and explaining that non-compliance without a legitimate reason may lead to disciplinary action. The guidelines state that this follow-up conversation should occur within a "reasonable timeframe," typically within 1-2 weeks, depending on the employee's circumstances.
The latest policy update now adds a final step, and gives managers the authority to terminate employees who persistently refuse to return to the office, a notable escalation.
First announced in February, Amazon's return-to-office policy required corporate employees to return to the office at least three times a week starting in May. In July, the company added that remote employees must relocate near office "hubs" where most of their team members work. Those unwilling to relocate or find a compatible team were offered a "voluntary resignation" package. By September, Amazon began sharing individual attendance records with employees, a change from its previous practice of tracking anonymized data.
Entrepreneur has reached out to Amazon for comment.
