Remember HQ2? Amazon.com’s (AMZN.O), opens new tab 2017 quest to expand, opens new tab its North American base beyond Seattle sparked a circus-like courtship to host as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs. The new location in northern Virginia hasn’t lived up to the hype, but there may be hope for it yet after Chief Executive Andy Jassy ordered everyone back to the office five days a week. The woeful lack of imagination, though, is indicative of bigger problems.
Jassy told staff, opens new tab this week that working from home will end next year, with few exceptions. The $2 trillion company also is dispensing with shared desks in favor of assigned seats at locations where it was previously the norm. The boss makes no apologies about turning back the clock: “Before the pandemic, it was not a given that folks could work remotely two days a week, and that will also be true moving forward.”
