Trouble for Tech Titans: Employee Tension Grows at Facebook, Google, Amazon

Tensions are escalating among tech workers at Amazon, Facebook, and Google as layoffs, return-to-office mandates, and other concerns fuel dissatisfaction and unrest. Unrest is so high at Amazon that workers are reportedly planning a walkout.

The Washington Post reports that layoffs, mandatory return-to-work schedules, and other issues are escalating tensions among tech workers at Google, Amazon, and Facebook (now known as Meta). A week after the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 31, Amazon employees at the Seattle headquarters of the company have announced plans to stage a walkout. The walkout is a reaction to a number of problems, such as layoffs, the mandate to return to work, and worries about Amazon’s climate commitments.

“Morale feels like it’s at an all-time low,” said a Los Angeles-based Amazon employee who plans to participate, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “In meetings and one-on-ones with colleagues, there’s so much uncertainty and lack of clarity from leadership. … It’s an unsettling time to work at Amazon.”

As a result of top executives receiving sizable bonuses while the companies continue to fire thousands of employees, morale at Facebook and Google has plummeted. The tech sector has been struggling since last year, when rising interest rates made it harder for startups to get quick cash. Tech behemoths like Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft have consequently announced layoffs, eliminating tens of thousands of jobs.

Return-to-office policies are being enforced at Google, which is increasing employee anxiety because they are worried that the company will use these rules to cut staff without announcing layoffs.

Facebook expects to make more layoffs this month in the third wave of a months-long workforce reduction that will eliminate 10,000 jobs. Employees have taken to anonymous message boards to vent their frustrations concerning the company’s leadership.

Since 2022, Amazon has cut 27,000 jobs at the company. A petition requesting a review of the return-to-office requirement that more than 30,000 employees had signed was rejected by the company’s head of human resources.

“There are so many people who are caught in limbo and unsure of the longevity of their tenure,” said the Los Angeles-based employee. “To me, that goes back to this complete lack of communication and transparency from leadership.”

The attempt to unionize warehouse workers and delivery drivers within the logistics network of the e-commerce giant has stalled as the tech workforce at Amazon has grown more dissatisfied over the past year.

“I think there is so much frustration with the company on so many fronts, and it’s all stemming from the same place: Leadership is making unilateral decision without the input of its workers,” said a Seattle-based Amazon employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “And I believe that a lot of people are in a similar position where they are just done. They’re fed up. They want to be heard.”

Read more at the Washington Post here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan