Amazon employees allege disciplinary threats over support for data centre curbs

Three Amazon software engineers have lodged a complaint with Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights after being questioned by the company over their participation in public hearings on data centre regulation, according to a report by The Verge.

The employees, who are members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ), claim the company launched internal investigations into their conduct shortly after they addressed the Seattle City Council in support of stricter oversight of AI infrastructure. They allege the move amounted to unlawful retaliation against political speech protected under local law.

The complaint comes days after Seattle approved a one-year moratorium on large-scale data centres, pausing new developments while city officials study their impact on electricity demand, water use, land use and public infrastructure.

Patrick Schloesser, Darius Irani and Liesl Wigand said they were separately contacted by Amazon’s employee relations team on June 10, about a week after the council hearing and one day after the moratorium was adopted. According to The Verge, the workers were told the company was investigating them and that disciplinary measures, including possible termination, could result.

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“I am unwilling to accept a reality in which Amazon or any corporation can silence me in exercising my rights,” Schloesser told The Verge. “We’re not going to step back in line.”

Amazon disputed the characterisation that the employees were facing dismissal. In a statement to The Verge, company spokesperson Margaret Callahan said employees are free to discuss their working conditions but must follow internal procedures before speaking on behalf of the company. She added that Amazon was reviewing whether any policies had been violated and stressed that the company does not tolerate retaliation.

Callahan also rejected claims that the company had informed the workers they were at risk of being fired.

Complaint follows landmark vote

The dispute emerged against the backdrop of mounting concern over the rapid expansion of AI-related infrastructure. Residents and activists in Seattle have joined a growing number of communities across the US that are questioning the environmental and economic consequences of large data centres.

According to The Seattle Times, four companies had submitted proposals for five major facilities within Seattle before the moratorium was adopted. Their combined electricity demand would have equalled roughly one-third of the city's average daily consumption and represented a tenfold increase over the power used by existing data centres.

Many residents attended council hearings in support of regulation, with five members of AECJ among those providing testimony. The group, made up of current and former Amazon employees, has previously urged the company to rely on additional local renewable energy to power its facilities. Last year, it published an open letter signed by more than 1,000 employees advocating such measures.

Workers say meetings left them shaken

Schloesser told The Verge that he received an unexpected Zoom call shortly before a presentation involving a project he had spent months developing. He said the conversation immediately left him with the impression that he was being pressured to admit wrongdoing.

Irani said he had been summoned to discuss a "confidential" matter and alleged that company representatives questioned him about other Amazon employees who had attended the hearings. Speaking to The Verge, he said he initially left the meeting unsettled before becoming angry after learning that the other AECJ members had gone through similar experiences.

“I left this meeting feeling rattled and unsure of myself, but after speaking with the other two AECJ members who gave testimony, to find that they’d faced similar experiences, then I started feeling angry — because all I was doing was sharing my opinion that AI and data centres should be regulated,” Irani told The Verge.

The complaint filed on Thursday asks Seattle's Office for Civil Rights to investigate whether Amazon violated local protections covering political beliefs and organisational affiliations.

Abby Lawlor, an attorney representing AECJ members, said Seattle is one of only a handful of jurisdictions that extend such protections to private-sector workers. She argued that the law was intended to safeguard exactly the kind of advocacy undertaken by the employees.

AECJ spokesperson Eliza Pan accused Amazon of attempting to intimidate workers and said the case raised broader questions about whether technology employees can freely participate in civic debates.

Irani told The Verge that communities should have a greater role in determining how data centre projects are deployed, arguing that local residents often bear the costs while large technology companies enjoy most of the benefits.

For Schloesser, the latest episode reflects what he described as a broader culture inside Amazon that discourages workers from challenging management.

“Pretty much as soon as I started I was aware of this culture of fear that Amazon creates,” he told The Verge, adding that concerns over layoffs and performance systems make employees reluctant to speak out, even when they believe their views are legally protected.