These major employers are making workers return to the office
CBSN
Amazon sent shockwaves through its ranks — and corporate America — Monday when CEO Andrew Jassy told workers they will be expected to report to the office five days a week starting in January.
The decision represents one of the most stringent return to office policies from a major corporation since the pandemic, when offices were suddenly shuttered and many employees shifted to remote work. Amazon's move is also unusual for a business in the tech industry, which has largely embraced remote and hybrid work arrangements.
Under the company's current mandate, Amazon workers have been reporting to their physical offices three days a week, although that will expire by the beginning of next year. While advocates of in-office work argue that showing up in person helps foster collaboration and feelings of connectedness, skeptics say Amazon could be imposing the mandate to reduce headcount, as some employees may search for more flexible jobs and depart, without having to lay off workers.
More than 2 million federal employees face a looming deadline: By midnight on Thursday, they must decide whether to accept a "deferred resignation" offer from the Trump administration. If workers accept, according to a White House plan, they would continue getting paid through September but would be excused from reporting for duty. But if they opt to keep their jobs, they could get fired.
More employees of the Environmental Protection Agency were informed Wednesday that their jobs appear in doubt. Senior leadership at the EPA held an all-staff meeting to tell individuals that President Trump's executive order, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," which was responsible for the closure of the agency's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office, will likely lead to the shuttering of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights as well.
In her first hours as attorney general, Pam Bondi issued a broad slate of directives that included a Justice Department review of the prosecutions of President Trump, a reorientation of department work to focus on harsher punishments, actions punishing so-called "sanctuary" cities and an end to diversity initiatives at the department.