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A longtime Amazon engineer quit in dismay over the company firing workers who organized, and says it will cost him more than $1 million

May 4, 2020, 17:16 IST
Business Insider
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.David Ryder/Getty Images
  • An Amazon engineer and VP says he resigned "in dismay" over Amazon's firing of whistleblowers who raised concerns about warehouse employees frightened of COVID-19.
  • Writing on his personal blog, Tim Bray said remaining in his job "would have meant, in effect, signing off on actions I despised."
  • The tech giant is reported to have fired multiple employees who've criticized working conditions at its warehouses.
  • Bray had worked at Amazon since December 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile, having previously spent four years at Google.
  • Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
  • Visit Business insider's homepage for more stories.
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A longtime Amazon engineer and VP says he resigned "in dismay" over Amazon's firing of whistleblowers who raised concerns about warehouse employees scared of contracting COVID-19.

Writing on his personal blog, Tim Bray said remaining in his job "would have meant, in effect, signing off on actions I despised." His last day at the company was May 1.

He wrote: "I quit in dismay at Amazon firing whistleblowers who were making noise about warehouse employees frightened of COVID-19.

"What with big-tech salaries and share vestings, this will probably cost me over a million (pre-tax) dollars, not to mention the best job I've ever had, working with awfully good people. So I'm pretty blue."

The tech giant has fired multiple employees who have criticized working conditions at its warehouses.

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User-experience designer Emily Cunningham and another designer, Maren Costa – two of the most active advocates of Amazon's warehouse staff – told The Washington Post they were relieved of their duties, while a third employee, Chris Hayes, was asked not to come back to work. The Post happens to be owned by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

In his blog post, Bray says Cunningham and Costa were "fired on the spot."

Bray had worked at Amazon since December 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile, having previously spent four years at Google. Bray is known as an outspoken software developer, having previously taken public potshots at Apple over the iPhone's closed ecosystem.

Emily Cunningham publicly thanked Bray for his stance in a tweet.

She wrote: "Amazon VP @timbray resigns over #covid firings of me, @marencosta, and others. Says Amazon "firing whistleblowers" is "evidence of a vein of toxicity running through the company culture. I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison."

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Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

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