Amazon Delays Texas Return-to-Office Amid Space Constraints

Amazon’s plans to bring its Houston workforce back to the office have hit a snag.

The tech giant planned to require all employees to return to the office at the start of the new year, but space constraints mean certain locations, including Austin, Dallas and Houston, will face delays, the Houston Business Journal reported.

“Regarding returning to the office, for the vast majority of Amazonians, buildings will be ready on Jan. 2, 2025, but for some locations, there may be different timelines,” Amazon told the outlet. “We’re communicating directly with employees in those locations.”

Amazon’s return-to-office policy requires employees to work five days a week in the office, reversing its previous policy that called for only three days.

The delays are not confined to Texas, as other major cities like Atlanta, Nashville and New York are facing similar setbacks.

Amazon has maintained Houston offices in Midway’s CityCentre development for several years, leasing 25,400 square feet in CityCentre 5 and 26,000 square feet in CityCentre 2.

Amazon is also undertaking significant upgrades to its local warehouse network, including a $16 million expansion to its HOU5 warehouse in Katy.

Dallas-based Telecommunications giant AT&T is also calling employees back to the office full-time starting in January, with the change initially affecting its Technology Services team. The shift marks a move away from the hybrid work model that many companies adopted during the pandemic.

Amazon and AT&T’s decision to require full-time office returns could lead to increased demand for office space in Dallas and Houston, which are both reporting a 25 percent vacancy rate. Collectively, the vacancy rate in the two cities contributes to an annual loss in potential rental income of about $3 billion—162 billion in Dallas and $1.56 billion in Houston, according toSwitch on Business.

— Andrew Terrell