Amazon threatens dismissal of workers speaking out on climate

E-commerce giant Amazon has threatened the sacking of its employees who spoke up about the company’s impact on climate change.

Maren Costa, a principal UX designer at the tech company, received an email from Amazon’s department of human resources. Costa was the subject of an internal investigation after she called out for action within the company to mitigate its contribution to the climate crisis.

According to the Guardian, the email says she will not face consequences for now. But Costa was told that any remarks she made had to be authorized by Amazon. Otherwise, she “may result in formal corrective action, to and including termination of your employment with Amazon”.

Costa went forward and shared the email to the news outlet saying, “It was scary to be called into a meeting like that, and then to be given a follow-up email saying that if I continued to speak up, I could be fired.

“But I spoke up because I’m terrified by the harm the climate crisis is already causing, and I fear for my children’s future. Any policy that says I can’t talk about something that is a threat to my children – all children – is a problem for me,” she continued.

Amazon has responded to the report. A spokesperson for the company released a statement to the Guardian saying: “Our policy regarding external communications is not new and, we believe, is similar to other large companies. We recently updated the policy and related approval process to make it easier for employees to participate in external activities such as speeches, media interviews, and use of the company’s logo.

Danny Manly
Danny Manly
Danny is a reporter and news columnist for Best in Australia. He covers world news the latest world news headlines and international news including US News and Europe, Middle East News.
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