Amazon pushes back return-to-office dates due to lack of space

Amazon.com will not have enough space for thousands of employees when they start returning to the office five days a week in January.

The company recently told some staff working in at least seven cities - including Austin, Dallas and Phoenix - that their return dates will be pushed back as much as four months, according to people familiar with the situation.

The delay is the latest twist in a return-to-office (RTO) saga that has roiled Amazon's normally heads-down workforce. Some employees say they are unhappy about being asked to come in full-time when many of their tech industry peers have more flexible work arrangements.

Amazon employs more than 350,000 corporate employees worldwide, mostly in the US, and it is not clear precisely how many people are affected by the RTO delays. A company spokesperson said the vast majority of employees will have desks starting on Jan. 2.

Employees in Dallas were recently told there would not be sufficient space for them all to work five days a week in the office until March or April, one of the sources said.