Amazon investigates three employees who spoke out against building more AI data centers
Three Amazon engineers who testified at Seattle city council meetings urging a pause on AI data center construction are now under internal investigation. The employees' group has filed a civil rights complaint against the company.
Five members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ) previously testified at Seattle city council hearings about AI data centers. Now, three of them—all engineers—are reportedly under investigation by the company.
The AECJ has filed a civil rights complaint against Amazon on behalf of the three engineers, according to CNBC and GeekWire. The complaint accuses the company of violating a Seattle law that prohibits discrimination against employees based on political ideology, race, religion, and age.
The engineers spoke at Seattle city council hearings considering a pause on AI data center buildouts. They urged the council to add renewable energy requirements and labor protections related to data centers to city regulations. They also called on the government to stop the industry's plans "to build out as much compute capacity as they can, as fast as they can, before regulations can catch up." The council ultimately voted to pass a one-year moratorium on AI data centers.
In their complaint, the engineers said Amazon called them in separately for meetings with HR after the hearings and told them they were under investigation over concerns about their testimonies. They were reportedly told the investigation could lead to disciplinary action or even termination. However, GeekWire reports that Amazon denied telling the engineers they were at risk of being fired for speaking at the hearings.
Company spokesperson Margaret Callahan told the publications in a statement that after reviewing the engineers' testimonies, "it became clear that they may have been speaking in their capacity as Amazonians and not as private citizens." The company is looking into whether there truly was a violation, since Amazon does not allow employees to speak as its representatives without following certain procedures. "It's important to note that we don't tolerate retaliatory behavior," she added.
In 2020, Amazon fired Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, two of AECJ's original organizers, over criticisms of the company's climate and labor practices. The former employees sued the company for illegal termination. Amazon settled with them in 2021, paying back wages and posting a notice that workers cannot be fired for organizing and exercising their rights.
