Amazon In Hot Water After Climate Change Allegations

Global business giant, Amazon, has come under fire over climate change gagging allegations.

The company is accused of allegedly threatening to fire two employees if they continue to publicly speak out about the company’s environment policies.

In a statement released on Twitter, Amazon Employees For Climate Justice (AECJ) said: ‘Amazon tech workers have been contacted by Amazon legal and HR representatives and questioned about public comments they had made around Amazon’s responsibility in the global climate emergency.

Photo: Holger Hollemann/dpa

‘Some workers then received follow-up emails threatening termination if they continue to speak out about Amazon’s business.’

AECJ said the threats came around one month after the multi-national company, led and owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, announced it’s Climate Pledge and committed to a company-wide carbon emission goals – a step workers celebrated and had been calling for up to a year.

Meren Costa, a tech worker for Amazon, said she was threatened with dismissal after speaking to the Washington Post.

‘Now is a time when we need to have Communication policies that let us speak honestly about our company’s role in the climate crisis,’ she said in the statement.

EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

‘This is not the time to shoot the messengers. This is not the time to silence those who are speaking out.’

Members of the AECJ say that Amazon updated it’s policy on employee communication just one day after the group announced they were organising the climate walk out. The new policy requires all employees to seek internal permission before speaking publicly about the company on any forum.

In response to the allegations, Amazon said their employees are instead encouraged to work within their teams and internally suggest solutions and improvements.

Photo: Holger Hollemann/dpa

‘As with any company policy, employees may receive a notification from our HR team if we learn of an instance where a policy is not being followed,’ an Amazon spokesperson told ABC News.

It comes after Jeff Bezos announced in September last year the company’s plans to use completely renewable energy by 2030 and have a net zero carbon emissions target by 2040.

The statement from AECJ can be viewed here: https://twitter.com/AMZNforClimate/status/1212777102270820353/photo/1