Amazon investigating engineers who criticized AI data center expansion

A group of Amazon engineers said they're being investigated by the company after they criticized the breakneck expansion of artificial intelligence data centers and called for stronger government regulation.

Earlier this month, five Amazon employees testified at Seattle City Council meetings where officials sought public feedback on a year-long pause on the construction of new large-scale data centers to give the city time to regulate the projects. Seattle passed the moratorium in a unanimous vote on June 9.

The employees criticized the hefty AI spending of tech companies, describing it as an "all-costs-justified AI build out."

Following the hearings, three Amazon workers were separately invited to Zoom meetings with a human resources representative who said he was investigating a concern that was raised about their testimony, according to a complaint filed Friday with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights.

The employees were informed that the investigation could lead to disciplinary action, the complaint states, while one staffer was told that the potential discipline could range up to termination.

Amazon's questioning made the staffers feel "intimidated and uncertain in their future employment," according to the complaint, which was filed by lawyers representing the employees.

"They also learned that Amazon was monitoring their political advocacy before the Seattle City Council and was seeking to identify additional employees who had engaged in political activities," the complaint said.

The complaint accuses Amazon of violating a Seattle ordinance that prohibits companies from discriminating against employees for their political ideology, race, religion and age, among other things.

Amazon previously told CNBC that the company respects its colleagues' right to voice their opinions.

Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan said in a statement that the company doesn't permit employees to speak as representatives of Amazon without following certain procedures.

As it looked at how the employees represented themselves and how their comments were received, the company determined they may have been speaking "in their capacity as Amazonians and not as private citizens," Callahan said.

"We believe it's important to apply our policies consistently so, just as we would with anyone else, we're investigating whether there was a violation of our policies and may or may not take action based on what we find," Callahan said in a statement.

Callahan disputed that the company has plans to terminate the employees or told the staffers they were at risk of termination. She added that Amazon doesn't tolerate retaliatory behavior.

The staffers are part of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a group of current and former employees that has repeatedly pressed the company on its climate stance, treatment of its workforce and other issues.

Two employees who founded AECJ were fired by the company in 2020 for "repeatedly violating internal policies" after they criticized the company publicly, including circulating petitions calling for greater coronavirus protections for Amazon warehouse workers. Amazon in 2021 settled with the employees after they filed a complaint with federal labor regulators.

More recently, AECJ has urged Amazon to be "more responsible" in its AI rollout, and "get real about the costs of AI and the guardrails we need."

Amazon has committed to spend up to $200 billion this year on capital expenditures, mostly for AI infrastructure. At the same time, it has laid off 30,000 corporate employees since October, part of an attempt by CEO Andy Jassy to transform Amazon into the "world's largest startup."

AI data centers have been a target of growing backlash across the country. A recent Gallup poll found that seven in 10 Americans oppose the construction of data centers for AI in their local area, with most respondents citing concerns around the facilities' environmental impact and quality-of-life harms.

Darius Irani, an Amazon employee of more than five years, said in a statement that he doesn't regret speaking at the hearing.

"All I did was testify because I believe it's critical that the government regulates data centers and AI," Irani said. "Workers need to be involved in these conversations."