Amazon.com Inc., the second-largest U.S. private employer, said its COVID-19 paid leave has been reduced to a maximum of 40 hours in a Jan. 7 notification to employees. Before the announcement, the company's COVID-19 paid leave for self-isolation was up to 10 days.

Quarantine periods for staff have also been adjusted in keeping with the new CDC guidelines.

"After reviewing the newly released guidance from the CDC, we are updating Amazon's COVID-19 isolation and quarantine policy to one week (seven calendar days) from when you took the test, with up to 40 hours paid leave," reads the notification, which was obtained by The Epoch Times. "This change is effective immediately and applies to all employees in the United States, regardless of vaccination status."

However, the company said that additional leave options would be available if individuals are still symptomatic after one week.