More than 50,000 Amazon employees will return to work in Seattle for the first required in-person Monday shift in years, marking a major adjustment for the region’s commuters.

Tens of thousands of Amazon employees will return to work in Seattle for their first required in-person Monday shift in years. Now the traffic in Seattle is expected to seriously ramp up, especially in the South Lake Union neighborhood.

Amazon has demanded that all of its employees return to the office full-time, five days a week. Now, as those workers head back to the office, officials in the company’s home base of Seattle are warning that the policy may clog up local traffic routes.

Beginning Thursday, Amazon employees will be required to work in the office five days a week. CEO Andy Jassy sent out a message to employees about the change Sept. 16. Like many other companies, Amazon’s corporate employees worked remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tens of thousands of more vehicles hit the road in the Seattle metro area on Monday after Amazon workers had to return to the office for the first full week in years.

It’s day 2 for Amazon workers going back to the office 5 days a week and one of the areas already seeing the impacts of all the foot traffic is Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood.

CEO Andy Jassy signaled the mandate last fall, noting that collaboration and productivity are better when people are working side-by-side.