An Australian has alleged she was subjected to racism and unfair treatment while working as an executive at Amazon’s cloud computing division Amazon Web Services in California.
She has since been diagnosed with PTS, and her US visa is dependant on her employment with Amazon, who act as her sponsor.
Jen Hussain is an Fiji Indian-Australian, who spent three years working for Amazon in Australia, before relocating in early 2020.
Hussain spoke to the AFR about her experience.
“I followed the company process to have these incidents investigated internally. However, when I was advised that the evidence couldn’t be substantiated, I was horrified and distraught,” Hussain explained.
“I had been with the company for more than four-and-a-half years, including three years with AWS in Australia, when these incidents started to take place in the US.
“This very quickly brought me down emotionally, as I was new to the country, in the midst of a pandemic, and dealing with multiple management changes in a short time frame.
“At first, I was shattered when I learnt about the performance management, but it did not surprise me as I was continuously unfairly treated in comparison to my peers.
“Each day feels harder as I feel traumatised and burdened with the entire experience.
“I am embarrassed and feel heartbroken as this is tarnishing my brand and all the hard work that I had put in since my employment with AWS. I’m not sure if I’m ever able to get back into the workforce after this experience.”
Amazon say they have “investigated these claims and have not found evidence to substantiate them.”
“Amazon works hard to foster a culture where inclusion is the norm for each and every one of our employees, and these allegations do not reflect our values,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
“We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment in any form and employees are encouraged to raise concerns to any member of management or through an anonymous ethics hotline with no risk of retaliation.
“When an incident is reported, we conduct a prompt and thorough investigation and take appropriate action, up to and including termination.
“We have investigated these claims and have not found evidence to substantiate them.”
