Amazon CEO Andy Jassy denies that 5-day office mandate is a ‘backdoor layoff’
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks during the New York Times DealBook Summit in the Appel Room at the Jazz At Lincoln Center on November 30, 2022 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy denied speculation that the company’s five-day in-office mandate was made to further reduce head count or appease city officials.
“A number of people I’ve seen theorize that the reason we were doing this is a backdoor layoff or we made some sort of deal with the city, or cities, and that’s why we were having people come back and be together more often,” Jassy said at an all-hands meeting Tuesday, according to remarks obtained by CNBC. “I can tell you both of those are not true.”
Amazon announced the new mandate in September. The company’s previous return-to-work stance required corporate workers to be in the office at least three days a week. Employees have until Jan. 2 to adhere to the new policy.
The mandate has spurred backlash from some Amazon employees who say they’re just as productive working from home or in a hybrid work environment as they are in the office. Others have said the mandate is in line with Jassy’s continued cost-cutting efforts, suggesting that it’s a means of forced attrition. Amazon has laid off more than 27,000 employees since the beginning of 2022.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment. Jassy’s comments were earlier reported by Reuters.
“This was not a cost play for us,” Jassy said at the meeting, which coincided with Election Day. “This is very much about our culture and strengthening our culture.”
At the time he announced the mandate, Jassy said that a return to the office full time would allow Amazon to be “better set up to invent, collaborate and be connected enough to each other and our culture to deliver the absolute best for customers and the business.”
Amazon’s cloud boss Matt Garman also defended the decision last month, saying staffers who don’t agree with the company’s new policy can leave, CNBC previously reported. Garman also said he’s been speaking with staffers about the mandate and “nine out of 10 people are actually quite excited by this change.”
Garman’s comments further rankled Amazon employees.
Roughly 500 staffers who work for Amazon’s cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services, penned a letter to Garman last week criticizing his remarks and questioning the merits of a five-day in-office mandate, according to a copy of the letter viewed by CNBC.
“We urge you to reconsider your comments and position on the proposed 5-day in-office mandate,” the letter said. “Remote and flexible work is an opportunity for Amazon to take the lead, not a threat. We want to work for a company and for leaders that recognize and seize this moment to challenge us to reinvent how we work.”
The letter included anecdotes from AWS staffers who detailed how the five-day in-office mandate will impact their “life and work.” One staffer said they were denied a disability accommodation and were being told to return to the office, and another employee said they were recently told to use paid time off to take care of a sick family member instead of being allowed to work from home. Another staffer said the RTO mandate would require them to be in an office “over 200 miles from my home.”
At least 37,000 employees have joined an internal Slack channel created last year to advocate for remote work and share grievances about the return-to-work mandate, CNBC previously reported. Staffers previously pushed back on the 3-day in-office mandate, with some staging a walkout at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters to express their dissatisfaction.
Jassy acknowledged Tuesday that the five-day in-office mandate will be an adjustment for employees.
“I understand that for a lot of people and we’re gonna be working through that adjustment together,” he said.
WATCH: AWS CEO says employees unhappy with 5-day office mandate can leave
A sign is posted in front of a One Medical office on July 21, 2022 in San Rafael, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
One Medical CEO Trent Green will step down from the Amazon-owned primary care provider after less than two years in the role.
Green is leaving One Medical to become CEO of National Research Corp., or NRC Health, a provider of health-care analytics and other services, the company said in a release Tuesday. He’ll start there on June 1.
Under Green, One Medical expanded into new geographic markets and opened more offices. It also integrated further into Amazon, with the company adding medical services to its Prime membership program.
Amazon confirmed Green’s departure in a statement.
“After nearly three years with Amazon One Medical, CEO Trent Green has decided to leave the company,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “We are grateful to Trent for his many contributions and wish him well on his next endeavor.”
Neil Lindsay, who leads Amazon Health Services, said in a memo to employees on Tuesday that Green is moving back to his home state of Nebraska for the new role. Green’s last day at Amazon will be April 4.
“Trent has helped One Medical solidify its position as an incredible place for providers to deliver — and patients to turn to (and return for) — high-quality, human-centered care,” Lindsay wrote in the memo, which was obtained by CNBC.
Green was named CEO of One Medical in September 2023, succeeding Amir Dan Rubin. The change in leadership came roughly six months after Amazon completed its $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical.
The deal for One Medical is the third-largest acquisition in Amazon’s history, behind its 2017 purchase of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion and its $8.45 billion deal for MGM Studios in 2021.
Amazon acquired One Medical as part of a deepening push into the health-care market. The company scooped up online pharmacy PillPack in 2018 for about $750 million, before launching its own offering.
It’s continued to tweak its health offerings. Amazon launched, then shuttered, a telehealth service, as well as a line of health and fitness devices.
Apple’s M4 MacBook Air in a marketing photograph.
Apple
Apple on Wednesday announced new MacBook Air models that update the company’s bestselling laptop with a faster M4 chip and an upgraded videoconferencing camera.
The computers also got a $100 price cut in the U.S., despite tariffs by President Donald Trump that took effect on Tuesday that experts have said could cause the price of electronics to rise.
The 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $999, and the larger, 15-inch model starts at $1,099. Users can pay more for memory and storage upgrades.
Although it has the same design as last year’s MacBook Air, the new computer will also be available in a fresh sky blue color, and it now supports multiple external monitors. The new MacBook Air goes on sale March 12.
The MacBook Air is one of Apple’s most critical products. Mac sales rose 15% in the December quarter to just under $9 billion in sales. The company attributed that increase to higher sales of laptops even though overall Mac sales, which also include desktop models, are still down from the company’s fiscal 2022. That was a period when computer sales were elevated as a result of people needing laptops for work or school during the pandemic.
Apple’s MacBook Air announcement caps off a flurry of new product releases by the company over the past few weeks.
In addition to the new laptops, Apple on Wednesday announced a high-end Mac Studio desktop with a chip that can run advanced AI. The company also upgraded its iPad Air with an M4 chip on Tuesday, and last month, it announced the low-cost iPhone 16e.
The Mac Studio has more processing power and is designed for people who work on computer graphics, audio or video production or artificial intelligence. It’s not cheap — the computer starts at $1,999, and more powerful configurations can cost nearly $9,000.
Apple’s new Mac Studio costs $1999 or more.
Apple
Prices watched closely
The MacBook Air price cut comes as Apple’s U.S. pricing is being closely watched by both Apple customers and investors to see what the iPhone maker does in response to the Trump administration’s tariffs.
Apple’s announcement signals that the company isn’t jacking up prices yet.
The new iPad Airs announced this week didn’t see any price change and still start at $599. However, the iPhone 16e costs $599, and it replaced the older low-cost model from 2022 that started at $429.
Analysts at Bank of America Securities last month forecast that PC makers including Apple would likely try to pass increased costs onto buyers. Rival Acer already announced price increases on laptops last month due to U.S. tariffs.
“Tariffs on imported PCs act like a tax that PC vendors largely pass to end customers,” the BofA analysts wrote.
The majority of Apple’s products are made in China and could be affected by two sets of 10% tariffs Trump placed on Chinese imports. Apple’s operations and third-largest market could be affected by Chinese retaliation.
Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Trump at the White House last month. After the meeting, Trump said that Apple “doesn’t want to be in the tariffs.” Cook told investors in January that Apple is “monitoring the situation.”
Apple has expanded its supply chain in recent years. Some Macs are now assembled in Malaysia or Vietnam, production locations which would avoid Chinese import duties. Apple didn’t say where the new MacBook Airs are assembled.
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