Recently, an employee left Amazon when the company required him to return to its office in the US. As a part of the decision, the employee also had to give up $200,000 worth of company stocks (equivalent to approximately Rs 1.6 crore).
The person was associated with the e-commerce giant for over three years as a software developer. The former employee was asked to join the office in Seattle in June.
The employee admitted feeling completely caught off guard by the decision and considered it a breach of the company’s initial commitment to permit remote work. After the decision, the employee tried to engage in negotiations and even presented an estimate for relocating his family and livestock, which amounted to $1,50,000. However, the company didn’t respond.
Amidst increasing pressure from the company, conversations emerged regarding the notion that employees working from home may be less productive, even though there was no supporting data for these assertions. He also disclosed that he eventually resigned from his position, forfeiting $203,000 in unvested stocks.
The ex-Amazon employee is currently working at a company alongside another former Amazon co-worker. He noted that his current position offers a comparable salary to his previous one, but it’s evident that they can’t match Amazon’s stock options.
In response to the situation, the company responded that it had been consistently telling employees to join office starting May, for at least three days a week. Additionally, as part of this transition, a relatively small percentage of the workforce has been asked to relocate to work alongside their teams.
