Amazon Investigates Workers Who Supported Seattle Data Center Regulations

Three Amazon employees filed a civil rights complaint Thursday alleging the company retaliated against them for publicly supporting Seattle regulations on data centers. The complaint, filed on their behalf by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, says Amazon launched internal investigations and threatened discipline, up to termination, for the workers' testimony before the Seattle City Council.

Patrick Schloesser, a software engineer at Amazon Web Services since 2020, told The New York Times he was called into a meeting last week with no notice and informed he was under investigation. He had testified at two City Council hearings in early June.

What the workers testified about

The employees urged Seattle to impose conditions on new data centers, including requirements for renewable energy, bans on nondisclosure agreements between the city and developers, and limits on public subsidies. Darius Irani, a software engineer in Amazon's grocery business since 2021, suggested publicly reporting water and power use, banning shell companies, and using heat from chips to warm nearby buildings.

• The Seattle City Council unanimously voted on June 9 for a one-year moratorium on new large data centers to allow time to develop regulations.
• The next day, Amazon's employee relations staff met the three workers individually and told them they were under investigation, according to the complaint.
• Irani said he was repeatedly questioned about his testimony and who else at Amazon was present at the hearings.
• Amazon said it launched investigations to determine if the employees were speaking on the company's behalf rather than as private citizens.
• An Amazon spokesperson said the company does not allow retaliatory behavior and that after the investigation, Amazon "may or may not take action based on what we find."

Broader implications for worker speech

The case underscores tensions between tech companies and employees who speak out on public policy issues, especially around AI infrastructure and environmental impact. Amazon has publicly stated it respects employees' right to voice opinions and noted it has no plans to build data centers within Seattle city limits. The group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice has organized around climate issues since 2018. The outcome of the investigation could set a precedent for how tech companies handle employee testimony on regulatory matters.

What comes next: The Seattle Office for Civil Rights will review the complaint. Amazon said its investigations are ongoing and no final decisions have been made. The workers say they expect to cooperate but remain concerned about retaliation for exercising their political rights.