Amazon has reportedly told the hundreds of remote customer service employees working in its Ring division to relocate to central office hubs in the US and UK or risk losing their jobs. The move is the latest action in a companywide push to streamline operations and aggressively integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI), a report by Bloomberg said. Citing an internal memo, Bloomberg said that the affected remote workers, who also support Amazon’s Blink camera and home security brand, must report to designated offices in Hawthorne, California; North Reading, Massachusetts; Tempe, Arizona; or London. Hundreds of personnel will have to relocate to retain their positions, the publication cited sources familiar with the decision as saying. In the memo, Amazon’s video doorbell unit explicitly stated it is looking to transform the customer service department into a “proactive, AI-powered support ecosystem.”The relocation order, however, does not apply to all staff; a small subset of workers who deal directly with customers, along with their supervisors, will still be permitted to work remotely. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the relocation requirement.
AI integration within Ring
The mandate follows a recent restructuring under Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, who returned as CEO earlier this year and has prioritized AI integration within the company.This decision comes amid growing anxiety within Amazon’s workforce. CEO Andy Jassy previously warned in June that AI tools would likely shrink the company’s workforce, and four months later, Amazon eliminated 14,000 corporate positions.The report said that some employees view the stringent relocation and return-to-office mandates, which require staff to be in the office five days a week, as an effort to force resignations and avoid severance payouts. Amazon denies this claim, noting that severance costs had already reached $2 billion this year as of September 30.According to one affected employee, the Ring relocation mandate is likely to prompt a large number of customer-service staff to leave.
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