Amazon accused two employees who publicly said that the company’s policies are contributing to climate change of violating its external communications policy, and that they could be fired for any future violations. A lawyer for the e-commerce retailer sent a letter to Jamie Kowalski and Maren Costa, warning that further violations could “result in formal corrective action, up to and including termination of your employment with Amazon.” The lawyer in the human-resources department, Eric Sjoding, told Costa in the Nov. 22 email, obtained by The Washington Post, to “review the policy again and in the future anytime you may consider speaking about Amazon’s business in a public forum.” Costa was called into a meeting with Amazon’s human-resources department in October to discuss her alleged violations. 

“I spoke up because I’m terrified by the harm the climate crisis is already causing, and I fear for my children’s future,” she said in an email to the Post, adding, “It’s our moral responsibility to speak up.” A third employee named Emily Cunningham said that she was also called into a meeting where she was told that she had violated Amazon’s policies after publicly speaking out about the company’s environmental practices.