Hybrid Work Makes Amazon, Meta, Others Reevaluate Office Expansion Plans

Reuters reports:Amazon.com Inc is pausing the construction of six new office buildings in Bellevue and Nashville to reevaluate the designs to suit hybrid work, the tech giant said on Friday... "The pandemic has significantly changed the way people work ... Our offices are long-term investments and we want to make sure that we design them in a way that meets our employees' needs in the future," said John Schoettler, vice president of Global Real Estate and Facilities at Amazon. Separately, Bloomberg News reported on Friday that Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Amazon have pulled back on their office expansion plans in New York City.... "The past few years have brought new possibilities around the ways we connect and work," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters without confirming or denying the report. Various news sites seems to have different pieces of the story. On Hawaii's most populous island Oahu, the office vacancy rate is now 14% - the highest level ever recorded. And this week a tech founder admitted in Fast Company that after converting to a hybrid company, "we're just as productive as we were before the pandemic (if not more so). Our engineering team's engagement has remained strong, and we've actually seen a boost in retention since the transition to hybrid work.... "Our transition from in-person, to remote, and now to hybrid work has reinforced the value of staying open-minded to innovation not just in our products, but also in how we work."

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