Amazon is requiring thousands of its corporate employees to relocate to major urban centres like Seattle, Arlington, and Washington, DC. According to Bloomberg, this move comes amid a wave of layoffs across multiple industries, potentially heightening anxiety and uncertainty among staff impacted by the relocation directive, reported the Financial Express.
Employees will be given a 30-day period to decide whether to relocate. After that, they’ll be given an additional 60 days to make a choice between initiating the relocation process and submitting their resignation.
A source cited by Bloomberg stated that the revised policy will affect thousands of Amazon employees across various departments. The individual highlighted that many mid-level professionals, especially those with school-going children and partners with established careers, are hesitant to relocate and disturb their current lives.
Commenting on Amazon’s relocation policy, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg, “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.”
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently charted an ambitious road map for the company’s future, emphasising significant changes to its workforce strategy as Amazon accelerates its adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).
In a memo to employees, Jassy revealed that the corporate headcount is projected to decline in the coming years, primarily due to efficiency gains resulting from the widespread implementation of generative AI and AI-driven tools throughout the organisation.
Jassy emphasised that AI is now deeply integrated into Amazon’s operations, shaping everything from Alexa and customer shopping experiences to backend business processes. He described generative AI as a groundbreaking innovation with the potential to transform how work is done and unlock new opportunities for both customers and businesses.
“Technologies like Generative AI are rare; they come about once in a lifetime, and completely change what’s possible for customers and businesses. So, we are investing quite expansively, and the progress we are making is evident. You can see it in what we’re rolling out in Alexa+, our next generation Alexa personal assistant that’s meaningfully smarter, more capable, and is the first personal assistant that can take significant actions for customers on top of providing intelligent answers to virtually any question,” said Jassy.
