Amazon Employees Demand Limits on Data Centers at Seattle City Council Meeting

Data Centers at Seattle City Council Meeting">

In a bold move, two Amazon employees publicly called for regulations on new data centers at a Seattle city hearing, warning that unchecked development of these facilities threatens the region's environment, economy, and safety. Liesl Wigand, an Amazon senior software engineer, urged local governments to collaborate with community stakeholders to set terms for data center buildout. 'Let's not let Big Tech burn Seattle to win the AI race,' she said.

The comments by Wigand and fellow Amazon software engineer Patrick Schloesser mark a significant escalation in the protest movement against data centers across the US. While workers at several big tech companies have complained about the negative effects of data centers, none are believed to have spoken out as publicly and explicitly before. Schloesser, who has been at Amazon for nearly six years, proposed that data centers should have to supply more renewable energy than they consume and provide power storage to support the broader electricity grid.

Schloesser also called for new taxes on tech companies and 'worker-led safety committees that report to the city' about any AI tools that are 'becoming a risk' to Seattle. He argued that tech companies are desperate to get data centers built, giving Seattle leverage to extract concessions from them. Both employees who spoke out are members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a collective of current and former workers that has long advocated for the company to better address the environmental impact of its business.

The push for regulations comes as tech companies and real estate developers announce plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars constructing dozens of data centers across the US to support surging demand for artificial intelligence chatbots and other generative AI technologies. Communities in nearly every state have organized against the projects, citing concerns about electricity and water usage, toxic waste, noxious emissions, noise, tax breaks, and whether AI is even a technology worth advancing. In Seattle, city officials are weighing a one-year pause on issuing permits for data centers to allow time for setting regulations on the projects.

The city currently has no rules specific to data centers, and several companies have expressed interest in setting up 'large-scale' developments that could drive up water and power prices for other residents and increase carbon emissions. Amazon did not immediately comment on the issue, while other tech giants like Microsoft and Google have recently tried to preempt backlash to their data center projects by strengthening commitments to transparency and environmental protections. The debate over data centers is expected to continue, with additional members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice potentially speaking out at future city hearings.