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Amazon demands full return to office five days a week starting January

September 17, 2024

OVER £2M INVESTED INTO UK NICHE VEHICLE PROJECTS Over two million has been awarded to six innovative UK niche vehicle technology projects by the Niche Vehicle Network, including one million pounds worth of government funding. The Niche Vehicle Network Production Readiness and Proof of Concept Competitions, funded by the Department of Business and Trade, via The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), provide a platform for collaborative R&D of zero tailpipe emission vehicle technologies within the UK niche vehicle sector. Today, the Network has announced that over £2m has been distributed amongst the six winning projects, including over £1m in government grant funding. Two projects have been funded through the NVN Production Readiness Competition. The Production Readiness Competition winners comprised projects led by Carbon Threesixty and Muon Tech. The Hi-DEN Gen2 project, led by Carbon Threesixty, in partnership with Antich & Sons, ULEMCO, and Riversimple Movement, will develop the design, manufacturing, integration, and testing of a conformable hydrogen storage solution to meet the growing demand for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles and help the UK reach its net zero targets by 2050. The Hi-DEN Gen2 system targets enhanced volumetric efficiency by approaching the storage of hydrogen through arrays of “micro” hydrogen vessels that enables huge increases in storage capacity, efficiency, and vehicle range. The Hi-DEN Gen2 project will build, test and integrate on a vehicle demonstrator a functional full scale hydrogen storage system. Muon Tech will partner with Rock Engineering Limited and Househam Sprayers Limited to bring to market the VXM-35, an integrated electric drive and vehicle control unit. The VXM-35 is designed to fit tight packaging volumes, with high levels of functional safety, reliability & functionality, and will be offered to niche-vehicle OEMs with a co-engineered 35-kW PMAC motor. The plug-and-play solution is ideal for traction applications on-board light vehicles and electric power take-off (ePTO) applications on-board industrial & agricultural vehicles. The HIVED Project will aim to prepare the VXM-35 for production and demonstrate it on-board the world’s first electric crop-sprayer. A further four projects have been funded through the NVN Proof of Concept Competition. One project awarded funding was Bo Mobility, in partnership with Neave Research, with the Boped proof of concept seeking to create a fully functional demonstrator vehicle for a new and innovative omni-category lightweight e-motorcycle. Aiming to enable the niche production of highly optimised vehicles for specific use-cases: the Boped project is a response to the new era of e-mobility tearing apart the rulebook on vehicle categories and capabilities. FR8 Technology, along with FPW Axles and Volta Commercial Vehicles, will produce a demonstrator 16 Tonne rigid delivery vehicle with a low-floor, providing direct access for unloading from the truck to the footpath. Reducing the access height to the load space from a typical 1200mm to just 300mm will be achieved using a radical patent-protected drive system with an e-motor mounted remote from the wheel, driving a gear train in the suspension arm and a double epicyclic reduction at the wheelhead. Quattro Plant, in partnership with Evparts UK and Inetic, are developing a technical demonstrator of an up-cycled off-highway vehicle converting to battery electric powertrain. These vehicles will directly match their ICE equivalents in performance and duty cycle, but have zero tailpipe emissions. The fourth and final Proof of Concept project is led by Raeon, in partnership with Eclipse Performance Vehicles. The project will demonstrate a high-performance application-specific near-production-intent prototype battery, with integrated thermal management, in a high performance L5e vehicle platform. Scott Thompson, Programme Director for the Niche Vehicle Network, said: “We’re delighted to have such an exciting variety of Production Readiness and Proof of Concept projects this year, and the funding being provided to these 17 different SME businesses will be key to enabling them to advance their technology concepts and accelerate their market introduction. The range of vehicle types and technologies being funded demonstrates how important the niche vehicle sector is within the UK automotive sector, supporting the transition to net zero. We’ve got projects developing new powered light vehicles, new architectures for commercial vehicles, EV conversions of existing off-highway vehicles, systems supporting EV agricultural vehicles zero emission, battery systems and novel hydrogen storage solutions suitable for a range of vehicle types. All the projects are focussed on advancing their technology and manufacturing readiness levels, and will help to not only expand the UK low volume EV supply chain, but also creating opportunities for wider adoption in higher volume and adjacent market sectors.” Josh Denne, Head of SME Programmes, APC, said: “APC is delighted to support another cohort of Niche Vehicle Network Production Readiness Competition. This crucial competition provides grants from UK SMEs and their supply chains to take existing low carbon vehicle technologies from demonstration through to production readiness in a compressed timescale, leading to significant economic benefits whilst reducing CO2 emissions. The journey to net-zero must span the whole automotive sector, and these cutting-edge, highly innovative niche vehicle technologies will help the UK reach its climate targets.”

Amazon has announced that employees must return to working from the office five days a week starting January 2, 2024, reversing several remote work policies introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The move will see the end of hot-desking in offices, with individual desks allocated once again, and a reduction in management layers to streamline operations and cut back on unnecessary meetings.

The decision reflects Amazon’s belief that in-person work fosters better collaboration, learning, and company culture. Previously, Amazon required employees to be in the office at least three times a week, depending on team needs. Under the new policy, remote work will only be permitted under special circumstances, such as illness, emergencies, travel to meet customers or partners, or the need for isolation to complete specific tasks like coding.

Amazon also plans to increase the staff-to-manager ratio by at least 15% by the end of the first quarter of next year, as part of a broader effort to reduce managerial layers and enhance decision-making processes. In a letter to employees, CEO Andy Jassy explained that the company’s rapid growth in recent years had led to an increase in managers and bureaucratic processes. He noted the company’s intention to cut down on inefficiencies such as redundant meetings and excessive managerial oversight.

Jassy acknowledged that the return-to-office mandate would require adjustments for employees who have adapted their personal lives around flexible work arrangements. However, he expressed confidence that setting the return date for January 2 would provide ample time for a smooth transition.

This policy shift is expected to generate resistance among some employees. Last year, Amazon’s Seattle headquarters experienced a walkout in protest of the initial return-to-office requirements, as well as changes to the company’s climate policy and workforce layoffs.

While Amazon’s leadership emphasizes the benefits of in-person work, the move highlights the ongoing tensions between corporate objectives and employees’ preferences for flexible work arrangements—a challenge many companies continue to navigate in the post-pandemic landscape. As Amazon prepares for this significant shift, it remains to be seen how the workforce will respond to the new mandate.

Justina Raskauskiene, Human Resources Team Lead at e-commerce marketing platform Omnisend, says: “Only time will tell if Amazon’s decision to bring all corporate employees back for full-time office work will do more harm than good for the company. Taking away the opportunity for people to work remotely can harm a company’s chances of attracting the best talent in the job market. The choice of future candidates will be limited to people working in certain cities that have Amazon offices.’