How Amazon’s return to work is expected to impact Seattle traffic [Video]

SEATTLE — Amazon employees will return to the office full time beginning on Thursday. 

The e-commerce giant previously allowed employees to work from home three days a week  but announced the full-time return to office buildings last September. 

Outside of “extenuating circumstances” employees are expected to be in-building, the company announced. CEO Andy Jassy said “it’s probably not going to work out” for employees who resist the new mandate. 

Amazon has about 55,000 employees at its Seattle campus and an additional 10,000 in Bellevue and the Eastside. 

Ryan Avery, deputy director for the Washington State Transportation Center at the University of Washington said he thinks the change will be “challenging for traffic,” particularly around rush hour on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. In addition, he expects those rush hour periods to last longer. 

“We used to be bad for three hours, now it’s …