Last year, Amazon announced the compulsory introduction of the five-day work-to-office policy, which made effective for its employees from January 2, 2025. The new rule abolished the hybrid approach, following the epidemic. CEO Andy Jassi justified the mandate to strengthen cooperation, strengthen innovation and strengthen the company’s culture. However, this change is now allegedly damaging Amazon’s ability to rent and maintain top talent.

According to a business insider report citing the internal Amazon document, the company’s so -called “hub strategy”, which requires the employees to transfer to the designated offices, have become one of the most debated subjects within their recruitment teams. This policy is asked to limit those recruiting by bringing it into “high-mang talent”, especially experts in emerging areas such as generous AIs.

Some recruiters also told the publication that after the return-to-office mandate last year, they saw a sharp increase in the candidates who have shut down the proposals, especially due to the policy. Many professionals instead chose to join the contestants for low salary in lieu of more flexibility. “We are losing to technical talents because of this,” allegedly said by a recruiter.

The report further shows that Amazon’s RTO mandate is not only about the presence of the daily office. According to internal sources, employees who are not ready to transfer Amazon “Hubs” are considered voluntarily resigning. Publicity and performance reviews are also being tied for compliance.

This strict approach has also allegedly made Amazon expensive. Bloomberg recently reported that Oracle has hired more than 600 Amazon employees in the last two years, in which it is easy to entice the candidates who are disappointed with the rules.

However, Amazon has denied these claims, stating that it continues to hire top talents throughout the industry. In a statement by Business Insider, a spokesperson rejected the basis of the report, stating that the company “continues to attract and maintain some of the world’s best people.” The spokesperson said: “We are always looking for ways to customize our recruitment strategies and search for alternative talent-rich places.”

The company has repeatedly defended its office-first philosophy. The spokesperson said, “We continue to believe that when they are cooperating and inventing the person, the team produces the best results, and we have seen that it is now true that we have returned most people in the office every day for some time,” the spokesman said.