- A group of local activists, immigrants, politicians, and possibly some Amazon warehouse employees are protesting outside of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ $80 million New York City penthouse on Cyber Monday.
- The protesters are marching against harsh working conditions at Amazon warehouses and say the company has a detrimental impact on the environment and local communities.
- Earlier this year, Business Insider spoke with 30 current and former Amazon employees who called their working conditions “brutal.”
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Protesting are gathering outside of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ $80 million New York City penthouse on Monday to speak out against warehouse working conditions, as well as what the organizers feel is Amazon’s detrimental impact on the environment and local communities.
Protesters rallied at Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse last week, and on Monday, protesters marched about half a mile through midtown Manhattan to Bezos’ 5th Avenue penthouse in snowy weather. It’s not clear how many Amazon employees are participating in the protest.
The protest coincides with Cyber Monday, one of biggest sales days of the year for the massive online retailer.
“The march will shine a light on the fact that every click on Amazon translates to more workers getting hurt on the job and more pollution in our local communities,” Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN), one of the groups organizing the protest, said in a statement. “The millions of clicks Amazon sees on Cyber Monday translate to more climate emissions and more surveillance power at the disposal of ICE and local police departments.”
Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Amazon dramatically altered plans to build a second headquarters, HQ2, in the New York City borough Queens last year after protesters and local politicians rallied against the deal. The company announced that it would expand its corporate offices and warehouses in New York City with several smaller projects and build new facilities in Arlington, Virginia, instead of the original HQ2 project planned for Long Island City, Queens.
Bezos purchased his Manhattan penthouse and two neighboring apartments earlier this year - the full property spans 12,000 square feet and 12 bedrooms. The penthouse occupies the top three floors of a 24-story building and is nicknamed "The Crown."
Earlier this year, Business Insider spoke with 30 current and former Amazon employees who called their working conditions "brutal" and described the physical and emotional toll that came with working in Amazon's warehouses. One former warehouse employee said the company made workers feel disposable.
Separate investigation published by Reveal and The Atlantic found that some Amazon warehouses had serious injury rates, more than twice the industry average. Amazon's self-reported figures from the Staten Island warehouse showed injury rates three times the industry average, according to documents viewed by Gizmodo.
Amazon continues to receive criticism for its treatment of warehouse and delivery employees, the company's state and federal tax breaks, and the environmental impact of running its global retail and web services business.