CNN
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Some Amazon.com workers have announced plans to resign next week amid dissatisfaction with the company’s return-to-work policies and other issues, a sign of heightened tension within the e-commerce giant after multiple rounds of layoffs.
The shutdown was organized jointly by an internal climate justice task force and a remote work advocacy group, according to an email and public social media posts from organizers.
Participating workers had two main demands: a demand that the e-commerce giant bring climate impacts to the forefront of its decision-making and provide greater flexibility for how and where employees work.
The lunchtime strike is scheduled to begin at noon on May 31. In an internal pledge, organizers said they would only complete the strike if at least 1,000 workers agreed to participate, according to an email from the organizers.
washington post is first report planned strike
The collective action comes after Amazon, like other big tech companies, cut tens of thousands of jobs starting late last year amid broader economic uncertainty. all in all, Amazon said this year It laid off about 27,000 workers in multiple rounds of layoffs.
At the same time, Amazon and other tech companies are trying to bring employees more into the office. in February, amazon says Starting May 1, it asked thousands of employees to work in the office at least three days a week.
“Morale is really at an all-time low right now,” an Amazon worker in Los Angeles who plans to walk out next week told CNN. “I think the hope of this strike is really to send a clear message to the leadership that we expect real action from them on a lot of issues, the argument being, for example, that we need better long-term decision-making that benefits not only It’s the employees, and the communities we serve.”
The employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said organizers were focusing on a live walkout at the company’s Seattle headquarters, but also created a way for people to participate virtually, so “all Amazonians are welcome to participate.”
One of the internal groups leading the walkout next week is called the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ), which organized Protests slam company for inaction Back to climate change in 2019.
“Amazon must keep pace with a changing world,” the group wrote in an article. twitter thread Tuesday called for a strike next week. “To create a diverse, world-class workplace, we need real plans for our climate impact and flexible work options.”
Amazon’s climate pledge, Signed in 2019, committing the company to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, among other climate goals. But in a Twitter post, the group slammed the pledge as “hype” and called for a “real climate plan”.
Amazon said it was making progress toward its goals, including putting thousands of electric delivery vans on the road and continuing to invest in proven and new science-backed solutions to reduce carbon emissions. Amazon also said it aims to use renewable energy to power 100% of its operations by 2030, a goal it now expects to achieve by 2025.
“We respect the right of our employees to express their opinions,” Amazon spokesman Rob Munoz told CNN in a statement on Tuesday.
Responding to employee concerns about returning to the office, Munoz said the company “has had a good couple of weeks with more people in the office.”
“There is a lot of energy on campus and in urban cores like Seattle, where we have a lot of business. We hear that from many employees and businesses around our offices,” Munoz said. “As it relates to specific topics raised by this group of employees, we have explained our thinking in various forums over the past few months and will continue to do so.”