Amazon

Amazon announced a second round of massive job cuts as part of its earlier announced goal of laying off 30,000 corporate employees. The latest cuts removed 14,000 white-collar jobs and affected the company's Amazon Web Services (AWS), retail, Prime Video and human resource units.

In February 2025, Amazon contributed $100,000 to oppose Proposition 1A, a ballot measure to fund Seattle's social housing authority through a 5% payroll tax on companies for salaries over $1 million. Amazon joined Microsoft and other corporate donors in spending $780,000 total against the measure. Despite the corporate opposition, the measure passed with 63% voter support.

Amazon announced it was 'winding down outdated programs and materials' as part of a broader review of hundreds of DEI initiatives. VP of Inclusive Experiences Candi Castleberry stated the company would focus on 'programs with proven outcomes' rather than individual group programs. Amazon also streamlined its public policy webpage, consolidating separate sections for 'Equity for Black people,' 'Diversity, equity and inclusion,' and 'LGBTQ+ rights' into a single paragraph.

An 18-month Senate HELP Committee investigation led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, reviewing 7 years of data and interviewing 130+ workers, found Amazon warehouse workers suffered 6.6 serious injuries per 100 workers — more than double the 3.2 rate at non-Amazon warehouses. Internal 'Project Soteria' studies found speed caused injuries, but Amazon chose not to implement recommendations to protect its bottom line. OSHA cited Amazon at multiple facilities for ergonomic hazards and inadequate medical care. Amazon settled with OSHA in December 2024 for $145,000 and agreed to corporate-wide ergonomic measures.

Amazon donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 presidential inauguration fund. Additionally, Amazon provided an in-kind donation by streaming the inauguration ceremony on Prime Video, valued at approximately $1 million.

Amazon's Project Kuiper received FCC approval to launch 3,236 internet satellites despite calls from environmental groups for comprehensive environmental review. A GAO report criticized the FCC for not conducting environmental assessments of mega-constellation impacts. In August 2024, advocacy groups petitioned to halt satellite launches pending proper environmental review of orbital debris, atmospheric effects, and astronomy interference impacts.

After Amazon acquired One Medical for $3.9 billion in 2023, leaked documents reported by The Washington Post and PBS NewsHour revealed that the company routed patient phone calls to a call center in Tempe, Arizona staffed by workers lacking medical training. In over a dozen cases, patients calling with 'red flag' symptoms — indicating potentially life-threatening conditions — were not appropriately escalated. Meanwhile, senior patient care deteriorated: appointment times shortened, clinical staff lost their jobs, and providers were expected to see twice as many patients daily. An Oregon state follow-up report confirmed these service reductions.

In May 2023, the FTC charged Amazon with violating children's privacy law (COPPA) by retaining kids' Alexa voice recordings indefinitely and undermining parental deletion requests ($25M fine). Separately, Ring was fined $5.8M after an employee viewed thousands of videos from 81+ female users' cameras in intimate spaces. Ring's security failures from 2016-2020 also enabled hackers to access consumer accounts and cameras.

Before its 2024 DEI rollback, Amazon had built substantial diversity infrastructure. Its 13 employee affinity groups had 130,000+ members in 2,000+ chapters across 58 countries. Glamazon, the LGBTQIA+ group formalized in 2005, grew to 20,000+ members across 80 global chapters. Amazon doubled representation of Black directors and VPs in 2020, provided transgender healthcare including hormone therapy and gender transition coverage, and committed $53M to female climate tech entrepreneurs. CEO Jeff Bezos received the Human Rights Campaign National Equality Award in 2017.

On December 10, 2021, a tornado tore through an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, killing 6 employees. Questions arose about whether Amazon had adequate severe weather protocols and whether workers were directed to shelter in the safest areas. The incident raised broader concerns about Amazon's warehouse safety procedures and whether the company prioritized operations over worker safety during severe weather events.

In 2021, Amazon conducted an aggressive anti-union campaign at its Bessemer, Alabama warehouse (BHM1) during RWDSU union elections. The NLRB found Amazon violated labor law through mandatory 'captive audience' meetings, improper polling of employees, threats about facility closure, and installing a mailbox that created the appearance of election irregularity. The first election was invalidated; a second vote in 2022 also rejected unionization amid continued objections.

Amazon's Ring subsidiary partnered with over 2,600 police departments, giving law enforcement the ability to request doorbell camera footage from users without warrants. Ring admitted to providing footage to police without owner consent at least 11 times in early 2022 during 'emergencies.' Sen. Markey's investigation found Ring had egregiously lax privacy and civil rights protections, with employees in Ukraine having unfettered access to live camera feeds. Over 30 civil rights organizations demanded the partnerships end, citing racial profiling and overpolicing risks. Ring discontinued its police Request for Assistance tool in January 2024.

In September 2019, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge with Global Optimism, committing to reach net-zero carbon by 2040 — ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian and became the first signatory of the Pledge, which has since attracted 565+ signatories. By 2023, Amazon matched 100% of electricity use with renewable energy, seven years ahead of target. Carbon intensity improved 40% since 2019. However, Amazon faced criticism for quietly dropping its 'Shipment Zero' pledge and the pace of EV deployment (~31,000 of 100,000 vans delivered by 2024).

Investigation revealed emergency workers were summoned to Amazon warehouses at least 189 times between 2013-2018 for suicide attempts, suicidal thoughts, and mental health episodes. Reports came from 46 warehouses in 17 states. Workers cited pressure cooker environment.

For fiscal year 2018, Amazon reported $11.2 billion in US pre-tax income but paid an effective federal income tax rate of -1%, receiving a $129 million federal tax refund. The previous year (2017), Amazon paid $0 on $5.6 billion profit. The company's tax strategies included use of R&D tax credits, stock-based compensation deductions, and other provisions. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported that Amazon had paid an effective federal tax rate of just 3.4% over the prior decade on cumulative profits of $26.5 billion.

On October 2, 2018, Amazon announced it would raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour for all US employees including 250,000 full-time workers and 100,000 seasonal employees, effective November 1. The move followed months of public criticism from Sen. Bernie Sanders, who introduced the 'Stop BEZOS Act.' Sanders praised the decision as 'a shot heard around the world.' However, the raise coincided with elimination of monthly bonuses and stock grants, leading some workers to report concerns about net compensation loss, though Amazon confirmed all workers would see total compensation increases.

Amazon made a $1 million gift to the Wikimedia Endowment, supporting the long-term sustainability of Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects. Amazon's total donations to the Endowment from 2018-2020 exceeded $3 million.