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tencent technology news, september 17, according to foreign media reports, on monday local time in the united states, amazon ceo andy jassy announced in a memo that all employees must return to the office to work five days a week.

the decision marks a major shift in amazon's return-to-office policy, which previously required employees to work in the office at least three days a week. under the new policy, employees must begin complying with this rule after january 2, 2025.

foreign media reported that in august last year, jassy warned employees who were reluctant to return to the office: if you don’t execute, your future at amazon may not last long.

jassy said it was a basic requirement for employees to work in the office five days a week, unless there were special circumstances or an exception was granted by the company's s-team, the executive team that reports to amazon's ceo.

“working remotely two days a week was not possible before the pandemic, and it will not be possible in the future,” jassy said. “our expectation is that employees will stay in the office unless there is a good reason.”

amazon also plans to simplify its corporate structure by reducing management levels, striving to "eliminate layers and flatten the organization." jassy expects that by the end of the first quarter of 2025, each s team will increase the proportion of individual contributors among managers by at least 15%. individual contributors refer to employees who are not responsible for managing other employees.

amazon will also review the structure of each team and may eliminate some roles that are no longer needed. any changes or adjustments will be announced at the team level.

amazon's workforce grew rapidly during the pandemic, and jassy implemented massive cost cuts after taking office, including the company's largest layoffs in 27 years. amazon's total workforce in the second quarter was 1.53 million, up only 5% year-on-year. in contrast, the number of employees in the second quarter of 2022 increased by 14% to 1.52 million.

in a lengthy letter to employees, jassy wrote that amazon was making changes to strengthen its culture and maintain flexibility, noting that the company had set up a "bureaucratic mailbox" to root out unnecessary processes and excessive rules.

“we want to operate like the world’s largest startup,” jassy wrote. “that means continuous innovation, urgency, ownership, fast decision-making, hard work and frugality, intense collaboration, and a shared commitment to each other.”

amazon's stock price fell 0.86% at the close of monday. (compiled by jinlu)