Amazon Employees Open Letter: Why 1,000+ Workers Warned CEO Andy Jassy About AI, Jobs & Climate

Why 1,000+ Amazon Employees Sent an Open Letter: Jobs, AI & Climate Ethics

Image Credit: Digital Tours (AI-Generated)

In November 2025, more than 1,000 employees of Amazon signed a powerful open letter to CEO Andy Jassy, calling for a pause on the company’s aggressive expansion of artificial intelligence (AI). The letter warns that Amazon’s “all-costs-justified, warp-speed” AI push endangers democracy, workers’ rights, and the planet.

What does the open letter say?

The signatories — including software engineers, product managers, warehouse associates and more — argue that AI development at Amazon is happening too fast, without adequate ethical or environmental safeguards.
They write: “We’re the workers who develop, train, and use AI, so we have a responsibility to intervene.”
The letter warns that Amazon’s climate commitments are being undermined: despite pledging net-zero emissions by 2040, emissions have reportedly risen ~35% since 2019.
It accuses Amazon of planning to spend around US$ 150 billion on new AI data centers — many in drought-prone areas or regions dependent on fossil-fuel energy, contributing further to environmental damage.
Employees warn that new “AI agents” and internal automation tools mean fewer human jobs, increased workloads for those who remain, shorter deadlines, forced AI-use and little investment in career growth — especially impacting logistics and warehouse workers.
They also raise broader ethical concerns: misuse of AI for surveillance, involvement with fossil-fuel industries, potential harm to democratic accountability, workers’ rights erosion, and what they call an “authoritarian tilt” in the wake of global political instability.

Why this matters — beyond Amazon

This protest from inside Amazon illustrates a growing tension in global tech: rapid AI adoption vs. ethical, environmental and social responsibility. As major firms race to build and deploy AI, workers are increasingly raising their voices — demanding transparency, accountability, and a say in how these powerful tools are used.

It also highlights a structural problem: data centers, AI training and compute-heavy infrastructure consume massive energy and water resources. If companies ignore sustainability and keep favoring fossil-fuel-powered setups, expansion of AI globally could worsen climate impact. For workers, too, automation and poor-quality AI-tools may mean unstable employment and stressful work conditions.

What the employees demand from Amazon

In their open letter, employees ask for three major commitments:

No AI built using dirty energy — all data centers should run on 100% renewable, local energy, 24/7.
No AI deployment without employee voices — create “ethical AI working groups” of non-managerial staff to have real decision-making power over AI use, layoffs, and environmental impact.
No AI used for violence, surveillance, fossil-fuel extraction or mass deportation — prevent misuse of AI systems in ways that harm people or the planet.

They argue that we still have time to steer the growth of AI in a more responsible direction — but only if corporations take ethical and environmental costs seriously now.

Takeaway: What this means for readers and the future of AI

This open letter is more than another corporate protest — it’s a wake-up call. As AI becomes central to our lives and work, it’s crucial that developers, workers, companies and consumers demand accountability. Without it, technology’s benefits might come with unacceptable trade-offs: environmental harm, job insecurity, and erosion of democratic values.

For readers — especially in countries like India witnessing rapid tech adoption — it is a reminder to stay informed and demand ethical AI deployment. For bloggers and writers, this story also offers a strong, timely topic: combining news with broader analysis and context helps produce meaningful, Google-friendly content that doesn’t feel like “just another copy.”

Note: This post is based on the open letter signed by Amazon employees and publicly available reporting by major news outlets.

Before diving into the full analysis, make sure to read this complete article for a clear and accurate understanding.

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