05:32 AM EDT, 10/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with the company's comment in the fourth and fifth paragraphs.)

Amazon ( AMZN ) unit AWS' CEO Matt Garman defended the company's new five-day-per-week in-office policy during an all-hands meeting, Reuters reported late Thursday.

Garman said employees who do not support the policy are free to leave for other opportunities, and that nine out of ten workers he has spoken with back the change, which will take effect in January, the report said.

"We didn't really accomplish anything like we didn't get to work together and learn from each other," he said, noting that it's difficult to meet the company's goals with only the mandatory current three days of in-office work because people may be in offices on different days.

In a response to MT Newswires, Amazon ( AMZN ) said that being in the office makes it easier for its employees to learn, model, practice and strengthen company culture. It added that employees who would need to work from home in certain occasions may just communicate with their managers just as they did before the pandemic.

"This is an effort to strengthen our culture and ensure that our teams are connected so that they can invent, collaborate, and deliver the best results for our customers and the business," Amazon ( AMZN ) said.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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