Amazon employee resigns over return-to-office, sacrifices $200,000 in stocks

An Amazon employee, who has spent approximately four years with the tech giant working remotely, made the decision to resign when faced with the requirement to return to the office in the United States, resulting in the forfeiture of company stocks valued at $200,000 (approximately Rs 1.7 crore). This employee, referred to as John Schonhoff (a pseudonym), expressed no regrets regarding the choice he made.

In an interview with Business Insider, Schonhoff clarified that the mandatory return to the office would have necessitated a cross-country move from New York to Seattle, prompting him to abandon the satisfying life he had built in New York.

He told Business Insider that he had been working for the tech giant since April 2020, initially prompted by the Covid pandemic to adopt a work-from-home policy, and had only physically visited the office on a few occasions. Schonhoff expressed his strong attachment to New York and his recently acquired dream property there, making it clear that relocating to Seattle was not a viable option for him.


In an effort to find a compromise, Schonhoff engaged in discussions with the company and sought an extension to his remote work arrangement. He also inquired about the possibility of a relocation package, citing the estimated $150,000 (about Rs 1.2 crore) expense associated with moving his family and livestock to Seattle. Unfortunately, his queries remained unanswered.

Schonhoff disclosed that the company's push for a return to the office was fueled by claims of decreased efficiency among remote employees, despite the absence of concrete data to substantiate such assertions. He remarked, "We were being told, 'We don't have the data, we just know it's true,' a statement so uncharacteristic of Amazon's data-driven approach that it became increasingly difficult to uphold the company's leadership principles. It didn't align logically. It still doesn't."

In the end, it was the company's insistence on a return-to-office policy that prompted Schonhoff to part ways with Amazon. He expressed a wish to continue his association with the company but perceived the manner in which employees were being encouraged to return to the office as deliberate.

Schonhoff is currently engaged in remote work at a startup, alongside a former colleague from Amazon. While he is enthusiastic about his new position, he emphasized his readiness to seek alternative employment should he be compelled to work from an office setting in the future.