On Wednesday, hundreds of Amazon’s corporate workers left the company’s Seattle offices in protest of the company’s environmental difficulties and its return-to-work policies.
A protest as a success
More than 1,900 global employees had committed to taking part in the walkout, which began at noon local time, according to event organizers, with some employees demonstrating virtually and roughly 900 in Seattle. According to CNN, the event’s organizers claimed that more than 1,000 corporate employees ultimately took part, but Amazon calculated that just about 300 people did. On Wednesday, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ) hailed the protest as “a success.”
Concerns over Amazon’s alleged failure to uphold its environment pledge are voiced by the demonstrators. Amazon has come under fire for its global product shipping fleet’s use of fossil fuels and plastic garbage. They’re also speaking out about the company’s new policy requiring workers to return to the office three days a week. Previously, Amazon’s let team leaders decide on work location.
Lack of trust
In a statement, Amazon said it supported workers expressing opinions. Amazon and other Big Tech corporations slashed tens of thousands of jobs starting late last year amid broader financial instability, prompting the protest. This year, Amazon has said that it will make many rounds of cutbacks totaling about 27,000 jobs. Amazon and other IT firms are likewise working to increase employee office time. Starting on May 1, Amazon said in February that it would mandate that thousands of its employees spend at least three days each week in the office.
In what is likely the most overt display of discontent among the e-commerce giant’s office staff in recent memory, Amazon corporate employees staged a walkout on Wednesday to express a “lack of trust” in the company’s leadership. More than 1,000 business workers reportedly joined the walkout on Wednesday afternoon, according to the event’s organizers. Amazon disputes that number and asserts that it believes around 300 people attended the event. More than 1,800 Amazon’s employees had committed to participating in the walkout, according to organizers’ email from the previous evening. This was done to draw attention to employee annoyances with the company’s efforts to force staff to work at least three days a week.
