Amazon fired at least two programmers last week after they aired public criticisms of workplace conditions at the company’s warehouses. Warehouse employees have accused Amazon of failing to take simple precautions to mitigate the spread of the Chinese virus around their facilities.
According to a report by the Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon fired two employees last week after they voiced public criticisms of Amazon warehouse workplace conditions.
Breitbart News reported this week that on Amazon’s alleged failure to mitigate the spread of the Chinese virus in its warehouses around the country. Some warehouse employees claim that they have been forced to sit on the warehouse’s floors during their break to comply with social distancing guidelines.
Emily Cunningham, a user experience designer, claims that she was fired over her criticisms of the company. Cunningham was a member of an organization called Amazon Employees for Climate Justice that encourages Amazon to limit their carbon emissions.
“It’s a gift to be able to fight for something you love so deeply,” Cunningham wrote in a tweet on Monday that referenced her firing.
Maren Costa, a principal user experience designer, was also fired on Friday after retweeting Cunningham’s criticisms of Amazon’s workplace conditions.
However, Amazon claims that the women were not fired for their criticisms of the company. In a short statement, Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener claimed that Cunningham and Costa were fired for “repeatedly violating internal policies.”
“We support every employee’s right to criticize their employer’s working conditions, but that does not come with blanket immunity against any and all internal policies,” Herdener said.
Breitbart News reported in March that Amazon fired warehouse worker Chris Smalls after he encouraged his coworkers to go on strike. Smalls called for the strike after Amazon refused to close and clean Small’s warehouse when one of his coworkers had a confirmed case of the Chinese virus.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story.