Amazon corporate workers stage walkout, citing 'lack of trust' in leadership

Amazon corporate workers staged a walkout on Wednesday to signal a "lack of trust" in the company's leadership, in what is perhaps the most visible sign of dissent among the e-commerce giant's office workers in recent memory.

On Wednesday afternoon, organizers of the walkout said more than 1,000 corporate employees participated in the event. In an email the night before, organizers had said more than 1,800 Amazon employees committed to join the walkout to call attention to employee frustrations on multiple fronts, including the company's push to get workers in the office at least three days a week.

"We're here because a lot of Amazonians feel in their gut that something is not right with the company," Eliza Pan, a former Amazon worker and co-founder of the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice group, said Wednesday at the walkout in Seattle. "And there are a lot of signs of this, such as a rigid, one-size-fits-all return-to-office mandate."

The main in-person walkout began at noon local time outside Amazon's Seattle headquarters. Organizers also had a way for employees at other Amazon corporate offices to participate virtually, and livestreamed the event on Twitter.

The walkout was jointly organized by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice and a remote work advocacy group, according to an email from organizers and public social media posts. Workers participating have two main demands: asking the e-commerce giant to put climate impact at the forefront of its decision making, and to provide greater flexibility for how and where employees work.

The protest comes after Amazon, like other Big Tech companies, cut tens of thousands of jobs beginning late last year amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty. All told, Amazon has said this year that it is laying off some 27,000 workers over multiple rounds of cuts.

At the same time, Amazon and other tech companies are trying to get workers into the office more. In February, Amazon said it was requiring thousands of its workers to be in the office for at least three days per week, starting on May 1.