Amazon allegedly threatened to fire employees for speaking out about climate change
Amazon employees were allegedly told they were in breach of company policy after speaking out about climate change. Photo: AAP
Amazon has been accused of threatening to fire workers who speak out about climate change.
The company warned two employees they could be sacked if they continued to speak publicly about Amazon’s environmental policies.
In a statement on Twitter, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ), said several technology workers were told they were in breach of the company’s external communications policy.
The group said the threats came a month after Amazon announced its climate pledge policy and committed to carbon emissions goals for the first time.
AECJ said it had been calling on Amazon to take action on climate change for nearly a year and it also organised a walk out by workers to support the Global Climate Strike in September.
AECJ announced our participation in the 9/20 Global #ClimateStrike on Sep 4. On Sep 5, Amazon changed its communications policy stating that employees can no longer publicly identify as Amazon employees and say *anything* related to Amazon's business without prior PR approval. 4/
— Amazon Employees For Climate Justice (@AMZNforClimate) January 2, 2020
Amazon tech worker Maren Costa, a user experience principal designer, was threatened with termination for speaking to the Washington Post.
“Now is a time when we need to have communications policies that let us speak honestly about our company’s role in the climate crisis,” Ms Costa said.
“This is not the time to shoot the messengers.”
“This is not the time to silence those who are speaking out.”
In response, Amazon said employees are encouraged to work within their teams and can suggest improvements on how the company operates through internal channels.
“Our policy regarding external communications is not new and, we believe, is similar to other large companies,” an Amazon spokeswoman said.
“As with any company policy, employees may receive a notification from our HR team if we learn of an instance where a policy is not being followed.”
In September, Amazon’s boss Jeff Bezos announced the company plans to rely entirely on renewable energy by 2030 and have net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
The latest revelations had little impact on Amazon shares, which jumped 2.7 per cent overnight amid a broad based rally.
China economic stimulus sees stocks rise
New economic stimulus from China saw US stocks hit new record highs on the first trading day of the year.
China’s central bank said it would lower the amount of cash that banks need to hold on their books.
It’s the eighth cut since early 2018 by the People’s Bank of China.
The PBOC will cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points on Monday.
The move releases more than $US100 billion to bolster China’s economy, which is growing at the slowest pace in nearly 30 years.
Investors are also optimistic that an initial trade deal between the US and China will be signed on January 15th.
US president Donald Trump confirmed the date on Tuesday.
