More than 1,900 Amazon employees around the world have pledged to walk out in protest against the company’s return to the office order, in which many employees have been told to limit remote work and working from the office for at least three days a week.
The event was broadcast live Twitter by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a group representing disaffected Amazon employees, speakers also drew attention to the company’s various policies, criticizing it for not being environmentally friendly.
According to the group, employees from the US, Ireland, South Africa, China, Germany, Poland, Brazil, Canada and Spain virtually attended the event.
Amazon workers protest
Banners put up by disgruntled workers read: “The best employer on earth? Stop PR”; “Listen to your employees, stop greenwashing”; and “One size doesn’t fit all.”
Another handwritten sign read, “I have been here for 17 years. Does Amazon care about my opinion?
Among the numerous concerns raised by the group are that the company has drastically underestimated its carbon footprint, that the pollution caused by its operations disproportionately harms communities of color, and that Amazon has backtracked on some decisions, including its commitment to half its net-zero carbon shipments by the end of the year. decades.
Of great importance during the strike was also the company’s decision to make office work mandatory: a decision published in February that sparked outrage among company employees around the world.
In addition to the environmental impact of commuting, which often requires families to own multiple vehicles, employees also report spending more time with their families by reducing or eliminating their daily commute.
Earlier this year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy explained that physical teamwork facilitates ad hoc conversations and better learning, also citing the positive impact on the economies surrounding the company’s offices.
an Amazon spokesman said TechRadar Pro:
“We continue to push hard to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040. We have more than 400 companies joining us in our climate commitment. While we would all like to achieve this tomorrow, for companies like ours that use a lot of energy and have very large transport, packaging and physical resources, it will take time to achieve this. We are on track to go 100% renewable by 2025 and will continue to invest, invent and collaborate significantly both internally and externally to achieve our goal.
We always listen and will continue to do so, but we are pleased with how the first month has gone after more people returned to the office. There is more energy, collaboration, and connection going on, and we’ve heard that from many employees and businesses surrounding our offices. We understand that it will take time to adjust to being in the office more often, and many teams across the company are working hard to make this transition as smooth as possible for employees.”
In addition, Amazon estimates that approximately 300 people out of 65,000 corporate and technical employees in the Puget Sound region and 350,000 corporate and technical employees worldwide participated.