More than a thousand Amazon employees have raised their voices against the company's aggressive artificial intelligence push, warning that it threatens climate commitments, human jobs, and democratic values. In a bold open letter signed anonymously by 1,039 workers and counting, Amazon staff across various roles are challenging leadership's AI-first strategy.
Workers Sound Alarm on Climate and Employment
The employee letter comes nearly a month after Amazon announced mass layoff plans while simultaneously increasing AI adoption across operations. Signatories include software engineers, product managers, warehouse associates, and even employees working on AI systems development, representing a broad cross-section of the company's workforce.
"We believe that the all-costs-justified, warp-speed approach to AI development will do staggering damage to democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth," the letter's authors wrote. They emphasized their unique position stating, "We're the workers who develop, train, and use AI, so we have a responsibility to intervene."
Climate Commitments Under Threat
Employees highlighted concerning data showing Amazon's annual emissions have grown approximately 35% since 2019, despite the company's pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. The AI race is exacerbating this gap, with Amazon planning to spend $150 billion building new data centers for AI infrastructure.
The letter raises specific environmental concerns about these data centers being located in drought-stressed regions where they consume scarce water, and in areas where energy demands could force utility companies to maintain coal plants or build new gas facilities. Additionally, Amazon reportedly killed legislation that would have required its data centers to use clean energy.
Human Cost and Ethical Concerns
Workers expressed alarm about CEO Andy Jassy's comments that Amazon will soon be full of AI tools and "agents," with the expectation of employing fewer humans. The letter describes current workplace realities including higher expected output, shorter timelines, and mandates to build AI tools for wasteful use cases.
Beyond employment concerns, employees highlighted ethical issues including Amazon's collaboration with autonomous weapons software companies, expansion of surveillance capabilities through Ring AI, and support for government mass deportation programs through cloud services provided to DHS and Palantir.
Three Key Demands from Employees
The signatories presented three clear demands to Amazon leadership:
No AI with dirty energy: Employees demand Amazon implement a public plan including powering all data centers with 100% additional local renewable energy 24/7, ending custom AI solutions for oil and gas drilling, and publishing a detailed science-backed plan to meet climate commitments.
No AI without employee voices: Workers call for ethical AI working groups of non-managers across the company with significant ownership over organizational goals and AI implementation decisions.
No AI for violence, surveillance, or mass deportation: Employees demand Amazon stop supporting civilian surveillance in conflict zones, collaborating with drone warfare AI companies, and powering mass deportation systems.
The letter concludes with a hopeful note: "We want the promised gains from AI to give everyone more freedom to play and rest, to spend time with family and friends, to be moved by nature, to create, to feel safe being who we are." With over a thousand employees already signed on and more joining daily, this represents one of the largest internal employee protests against AI implementation in corporate history.
