Amazon To Employee Climate Activists: Toe The Line Or Get Fired

Seattle-based e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. AMZN is threatening employees with consequences for speaking publicly about its business, an Amazon employee union said in a statement on Thursday.

What Happened

The Amazon Employee For Climate Justice (AECJ) said that some of the workers had been questioned by the company's legal and human resources department representatives regarding their public comments related to Amazon's role in fighting global climate change.

The workers received follow-up emails after the questioning, threatening termination if they continue to engage in public discourses around Amazon's business, according to AECJ.

One of the emails sent to an employee activist Maren Costa warned her that future infractions could "result in formal corrective action, up to and including termination of your employment with Amazon," the Washington Post reported.

The Amazon lawyer warned Costa to "review the policy again and in the future anytime you may consider speaking about Amazon's business in a public forum," according to the Post.

All Companies Have Similar Policies, Says Amazon

An Amazon spokeswoman Jaci Anderson told the Post that Amazon's policy is "not new," and is in line with the policies of other major companies.

Anderson said that employees are "encouraged" to work within their teams and give feedback through internal channels.

"As with any company policy, employees may receive a notification from our HR team if we learn of an instance where a policy is not being followed," Anderson told the Post in an emailed statement.

Why It Matters

There has been a standoff between the management of new-aged technology giants and their employees over freedom of speech and the right of the workers to unionize recently.

In November last year, Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. GOOGL fired four activist employees for alleged "data breach."

The workers had protested the company's decision to work with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on account of human rights violation.

Price Action

Amazon's shares closed 2.72% higher at $1,898.01 on Thursday. The shares traded 1.47% lower in after-hours market.