Amazon is facing one of its largest internal employee actions to date, with more than a thousand staff members signing an open letter addressed to CEO Andy Jassy. The letter expresses concerns about the pace at which the company is adopting artificial intelligence technologies.
According to the letter, employees believe Amazon’s accelerated focus on becoming an “AI-first” organisation may negatively affect its workforce, long-term climate commitments, and broader societal impacts. The signatories state that the rapid expansion of AI development could undermine Amazon’s pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions within the next 15 years. They claim the company’s annual emissions have increased by approximately 35 per cent over the past six years, attributing part of the rise to AI-related activities.
Those who signed the letter include engineers, product managers, warehouse employees, and individuals currently employed at other major technology firms such as Google, Meta, Uber, Microsoft, Apple, and Salesforce.
The employee action follows Amazon’s recent announcement of plans to streamline its workforce and increase investments in AI. The company has outlined a proposal to invest nearly $150 billion in new AI data centres.
The letter calls for Amazon to adopt 100 per cent additional, locally sourced renewable energy to power these facilities. Employees further request that the company discontinue custom AI tools that accelerate oil and gas drilling, and publish a detailed plan describing how it intends to meet its climate goals. The letter also urges Amazon to establish ethical AI working groups that include non-managerial staff.
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