More than a thousand Amazon employees have issued a public warning to CEO Andy Jassy, urging the company to reassess the pace and direction of its artificial intelligence expansion. In an open letter circulated internally and later shared with the media, workers expressed concern that Amazon’s growing investment in AI infrastructure is placing new strain on the environment and heightening pressure on its workforce.
The campaign began earlier this year when four members of the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice collective started gathering signatures. Their push quickly spread through the company’s global offices, drawing support from senior engineers, product leaders, marketing teams and warehouse staff. The group says it has also received backing from more than two thousand external supporters, including employees at Google, Apple and other technology firms.
The letter argues that Amazon’s pursuit of AI leadership has come at the cost of its climate pledges. The company has committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2040 and has highlighted investments such as electric delivery fleets and reduced plastic use. Workers say these moves are now overshadowed by Amazon’s plan to spend nearly 150 billion dollars on new data centres designed to support AI systems. Many of these facilities, they warn, are likely to be located in regions facing water scarcity or heavy dependency on fossil-fuel power, which could keep older coal and gas plants running longer.
They also criticised Amazon Web Services for continuing to support oil and gas exploration through specialised cloud tools.
Beyond environmental concerns, the letter outlines growing internal pressures linked to AI development. Employees reported tighter deadlines, increased workloads and demands to build tools that they believe lack clear purpose. Career progression, they say, is being deprioritised while the company concentrates resources on AI.
The workers put forward three demands: ensure AI systems are powered by clean energy, include employee representation in decision-making and prevent the use of AI for surveillance, violence or mass deportation.
In response, an Amazon spokesperson reiterated the company’s commitment to its 2040 climate target, adding that progress may fluctuate but the long-term goals remain unchanged.
