E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) is reportedly investigating several of its engineers after they criticized the company’s artificial intelligence (A.I.) data centre expansion.
Earlier in June, five Amazon engineers testified at Seattle City Council meetings where officials sought public feedback on a year-long pause on the construction of A.I. data centres.
The engineers who testified at the council meeting also called for stronger government regulation of A.I. data centres.
Seattle, which is where Amazon is headquartered, passed the moratorium on data centres in a unanimous vote taken on June 9.
The Amazon engineers say they were subsequently invited to a meeting with human resources and told they’re being investigated over their city council testimony.
The employees were informed that the investigation could lead to disciplinary action, including the potential for termination from the company.
The engineers have now filed a complaint with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, saying they
feel “intimidated and uncertain in their future employment” at Amazon.
The complaint accuses Amazon of monitoring their political advocacy and violating a Seattle ordinance that prohibits companies from discriminating against employees for their political ideology.
In a written statement released to the media, Amazon said it doesn’t permit employees to speak as representatives of the company without following certain procedures.
Amazon has committed to spend $200 billion U.S. this year on capital expenditures, mostly for A.I. infrastructure. At the same time, it has laid off 30,000 employees since last October.
A.I. data centres face a growing backlash across the U.S. A recent poll found that seven in 10 Americans oppose the construction of data centers in their local area.
Poll respondents cited concerns around the data centres’ environmental impacts and potential to harm their quality of life as reasons for their opposition.
AMZN stock has risen 17% in the last 12 months to trade at $244.39 U.S. per share.
Tech Insider
