Amazon investigates 3 employees after Seattle data center

Three Amazon software engineers say they are under internal investigation after publicly urging the Seattle City Council to regulate data centers. The employees, Darius Irani, Liesel Wigand, and Patrick Schloesser, filed a joint complaint on Thursday with Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights alleging Amazon is attempting to intimidate and retaliate against them for expressing political views outside work.

What happened?

Three current Amazon staffers say they were each called into virtual meetings with Amazon employee relations last Wednesday and told the company may open an investigation that could last "one to two weeks." The workers say they were directed to use a speaker registration form and, in at least one conversation, were told the probe could lead to termination. The three spoke at multiple public comment periods this month, identified themselves as members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, and had earlier joined two other colleagues in urging the council to consider restrictions on data center construction.

How has Amazon characterized the situation and what legal context is cited?

Amazon says it reviewed how the employees represented themselves and that "it became clear that they may have been speaking in their capacity as Amazonians and not as private citizens," an Amazon spokesperson said, adding "we don't tolerate retaliatory behavior." The workers’ attorney, Abby Lawlor of Barnard Iglitzin & Lavitt, points to Seattle law that bars private employers from discriminating against employees based on political beliefs and organizational membership, and says the workers have "legal tools to fight back." The employees also note Amazon does not have a current or proposed data center in Seattle, though several other companies do.

What did the employees argue in public and in their complaint?

The three engineers said their public remarks urged the city to regulate environmental and social impacts of data centers, including possible requirements for renewable energy and innovative cooling, as Irani suggested during his comments. Schloesser, who has worked at Amazon for about six years, told the council he spoke to show that "tech is not a monolith," and that he had grown tired of being afraid to stand up for his values. The complaint filed with the city alleges Amazon illegally attempted to intimidate and retaliate against them for exercising political speech outside of work.

Why it matters

The dispute sits at the intersection of employee activism, corporate speech policies, and municipal regulation of AI infrastructure. Seattle’s City Council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new data center construction this month, giving the city time to draft new rules, and the controversy highlights how companies and workers are navigating public debate over the energy and water demands of data centers. If investigators or the city side with the employees, employers nationwide could face clearer limits on policing staff political speech tied to local policy discussions.

What to watch

Watch for the outcome of the employees’ complaint to Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights and for any updates from Amazon on the internal probes, which the workers say may take one to two weeks. Also monitor city action following the one-year moratorium on data centers and whether other tech workers who spoke at later meetings receive similar company scrutiny.