Amazon Employees Publicly Condemn Company's Communications, Climate Policies

More than 350 employees at Amazon.com Inc. AMZN issued public statements about the company violating its communications policy on Sunday in a show of solidarity with their colleagues who were threatened with termination for doing the very same thing.

What Happened

The Amazon Employees for Climate Action (AECA) collective posted quotes from 357 employees in a blog post on Medium, calling on the company to do more when it comes to combating climate change.

"The action was done in protest to Amazon's newly updated external communications policy, which forbids employees from speaking about the company's business without prior approval from management," AECA said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the union said that the employees who spoke publicly against the company's policies were questioned by the human resources and legal departments. Those employees later received threats of termination through emails, according to AECA.

Amazon representatives had said at the time that the policy isn't "new," and is in line with the standard industry practice.

Why It Matters

The e-commerce giant September last year made a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, as more than a thousand employees staged a walkout.

AECA doesn't think that pledge to be enough. Amazon needs to achieve zero emissions by 2030, it said.

More companies are announcing more aggressive policies on cutting their carbon emissions. Microsoft Corporation MSFT earlier this month said it aims to become "carbon negative" by 2030.

Starbucks Corporation SBUX last week said it would become "resource positive," offering more plant-based options on its menu, among other changes.

Google parent company Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG has said it achieved 100% carbon neutrality but relies on purchasing renewable energy credits. The internet giant too faced criticism November last year when it fired four employee, climate activists, for alleged "data breach."

Photo Credit: Public domain photo via Wikimedia.