Washington: Amazon stopped Palestinian software engineers hours after sending an email to senior executives and posting to an internal slack channel protesting relations with the Israeli government.
In his letter, Seattle-based Ahmed Sharoa denounced the Amazon for the Israeli war in Gaza through Project Nimbus. It was a $1.2 billion joint agreement signed with Google in 2021, providing cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other technical services to the Israeli government and military.
Shahrour, who works at Amazon's Whole Foods Division, criticized the company for silenced the Palestinian voice and dismissing workers' complaints. His letter, addressed to executives, including CEO Andy Jassy, was shared simultaneously on several internal Slack channels.
“I write code for Whole Foods every day. I remember my Gaza brothers and sisters were hungry for Israel's artificial lockdown,” Amazon employee Shahrour wrote for more than three years. “I live in a state of constant dissonance. I will maintain the profitable tools for this company, but my people are burned and hungry with the help of that very profitable. I have no choice but to resist directly.”
He urged Amazon colleagues to support a new worker-led Palestinian campaign calling on the company to end its involvement in Project Nimbus.
Two hours after Shahrour sent him his letter, Amazon revoked access to all the company's systems and emails, informing him that he had been suspended “on pay until further notice” until he waited for an investigation.
“It was accompanied by Amazon's caution that posts made on multiple internal companies' slack channels could violate multiple policies. Soon you're suspended during the dispute on your pay until further notice,” the senior HR representative said in a formal email to Shahrour, seen by Arab News.
Shahrour told Arab News he has not been notified of the policy that he allegedly violated as he is waiting for contact from employee relations investigators in the next step. He added that the company has removed his statement from all Slack channels.
In a statement to Arab News, Amazon spokesman Brad Glasser said: “We do not tolerate any kind of discriminatory, harassing or threatening behavior or language in the workplace. If any behavior of that nature is reported, we investigate it and take appropriate action based on the findings.”
Tech companies have recently been under pressure to cut ties with the Israeli government, where military campaigns in Gaza have killed more than 64,000 people, wounded tens of thousands, killed lives, and caused widespread hunger that deepened the worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
Last month, Microsoft fired four employees after participating in a protest at the company's facility opposed relations with Israel, including two people who took part in a sit-in in the company's presidential office.
The lawsuit disrupts Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration with similar protests, with two employees previously fired in April. The end has attracted criticism among activists who accused major tech companies of cracking down on pro-Palestinian speeches.
Despite his suspension, Sharoa and community supporters distributed flyers outside the company's Seattle headquarters to protest Amazon's work with Israel.
In his letter, he expressed concern over the discriminatory treatment of Palestinian workers. He said two days after the October 7, 2023 war, Jassy of Amazon “sent an email expressing sympathy for the Israeli hostages without recognizing Palestinian lives once.”
“This is a blatant act of white supremacy, indicating that brown lives are less valuable. My family is less. I am less.
As part of his broader complaints about the removal of concerns of the company's workers, he criticized the failure of Amazon's actions after more than 1,700 employees filed a petition with Jussy in December 2023, urging Amazon to cancel all contracts with the Israeli military and call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire.
He added that he saw “racist vitriol” on the company's public slack channel targeting Palestinians. “However, when Palestinian employees and allies tried to raise awareness of Gaza's humanitarian crisis, their posts were quickly censored and removed.”
Palestinian workers were given written warnings to share articles about American doctors volunteering in Gaza, he said. “At least one worker was fired for speaking out,” Sharoa added.
