Amazon is in the process of laying off nearly 30,000 corporate workers so that it can invest over $100 billion on building data centers for AI, while also restricting employees' ability to communicate with one another. These anti-labor moves are to prop up the company's reckless and unsustainable roll out of AI. Amazon workers are sounding the alarm about how Amazon's AI plans are having a catastrophic impact on climate change, working conditions, and the health of our democracy and they need our help.
Amazon corporate workers have written an open letter to their CEO highlighting their concerns regarding Amazon's dangerously half-baked AI development and the more of their colleagues who sign on, the more powerful their collective voice becomes. Since Amazon is limiting workers' ability to communicate with one another, they are asking for our help to get the word out about their open letter.
To stand in solidarity with workers, we as content creators, with a collective following of over 50 million, refuse to allow Amazon to use us and our platforms to prioritize profit over people.
We can't let Amazon thrive during the holidays. Last year alone, Amazon made over $10 billion from Black Friday and Cyber Monday transactions, incentivizing them to do whatever it takes to keep raising profits: firing workers, increasing damaging AI use, and engaging in union-busting tactics. This is why we need a collective voice to ensure we put our money where our mouth is. By pledging not to work with Amazon, you uplift Amazon workers’ common sense demands, decrease environmental damage, and hold a capitalistic giant accountable.
In alignment with Trump’s AI plan, tech companies including Amazon are collaborating in their push for the deregulation of the tech industry and the dismantling of environmental protections, leaving CEOs like Andy Jassy eager to accept authoritarianism to push their bottom line.
The IPCC estimates that we only have until 2030 to cut global emissions nearly in half, but Amazon is spending this time massively increasing emissions in pursuit of AI dominance. In fact, there are $200 billion worth of data center projects being built in the South, and Amazon alone has 81 data centers. With 40% of data centers located in high water stressed areas, residents are left rationing their water intake.
Researchers estimate that by 2028, energy use will generate the same emissions as driving over 300 billion miles – or over 1,600 round trips to the sun from earth. It is more clear than ever that the war for energy and water is here, and tech companies are staking their water claims at the expense of local communities.
Amazon’s current AI push is devastating for workers. Layoffs will cause thousands of people to lose livelihoods and thousands more still employed folk to take on the responsibility of multiple people on tighter timelines. So Amazon employees are fighting for safeguards: slowing the race for AI dominance, demanding real input, and sounding the alarm for accountability.
These moves by Amazon are not made in a vacuum. Tech barons like the leaders at Amazon have lined up to support the regime financially to curry favor with Trump personally. Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, has rolled back on DEI commitments, and has sponsored Trump’s birthday celebrations.
So it is no surprise that AI, as these same tech CEOs are currently developing it, is being used to support authoritarianism. Amazon is working with Palantir to bring AI to the Defense Department and has openly supported bans on AI regulation. We have to stand firm and make public moves now to stop this shift.
It is extremely important that you take action today by:
1. Sharing this letter far and wide to highlight the demands of Amazon workers across social media.
2. Talk about Amazon’s disastrous AI development amongst your creator friends and get them to join the pledge in your own circles.
It will take time, energy, our loud voices, and courage, but we have the power to make change.
