has instructed its employees to re-locate to major city hubs such as Seattle, Arlington, Virginia; and Washington DC to move closer to their managers and teams, reports Bloomberg News. This has created a turmoil for employees already facing the risk of job insecurity driven by artificial intelligence.Amazon operates satellite offices across the US including in major cities such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Austin. These locations offer employees some flexibility in choosing where to live. During the pandemic, many workers were brought on in fully remote roles.

The re-location mandate would require some Amazon employees to move across the country, according to people familiar with the situation. Workers are being informed through one-on-one meetings and town halls rather than company-wide announcements, people said on the condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to discuss company plans.

'Razer blade throat': New Covid variant 'Nimbus' in US is causing very painful symptom. Check detailsThe relocation policy is going to impact thousands of employees across several teams, one of the people told Bloomberg. Mid-career professionals with school-aged children and partners with established careers are hesitant to relocate, especially given Amazon’s recent cost-cutting measures.

"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," an Amazon spokesperson was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.When CEO Andy Jassy ordered employees to return to office for five days a week earlier this year, workers were not informed to move to specific locations.Kristi Noem's hospitalisation linked to her visit with RFK Jr to a controversial biohazard lab for Ebola, SARS-CoV-2?

According to internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg, one employee said their manager informed the team that they have just 30 days to decide on their re-location. Then they had 60 days to either resign or begin their relocation process, according to the person, who said they were told there would be no severance for employees who resigned in lieu of relocating.

"We hear from the majority of our teammates that they love the energy from being located together, and whenever someone chooses to or is asked to relocate, we work with them to offer support based on their individual circumstances," the spokesperson added.

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The timing coincides with Andy Jassy's recent announcement that company’s corporate workforce will be substantially reduced in the coming years as the e-commerce giant adopts generative artificial intelligence tools and AI agents. In a message to employees, Jassy described generative AI as “a once-in-a-lifetime technology” that will transform how the company operates, urging employees to learn how to use AI tools and “how to get more done with scrappier teams.”

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While optimistic about what AI can unlock, Jassy didn’t shy away from the uncomfortable reality: many current roles could become redundant as Amazon ramps up its deployment of AI tools across departments.

“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy wrote in the memo. “It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we gain efficiency from using AI extensively across the company.”

The relocation requirement may lead to voluntary resignations, offering Amazon a cost-efficient method to trim its workforce without resorting to layoffs or incurring severance costs. Since 2022, the company has already cut 27,000 corporate jobs across several rounds of reductions.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)