The Amazon VP who went viral for quitting and calling the company 'chickensh--' says Google, Comcast, and Huawei got in touch
- Tim Bray, an Amazon VP and engineer, caused a stir on Monday with the announcement of his resignation from the company.
- In a blog post explaining his resignation, Bray said he had quit in protest after Amazon fired whistleblowers who spoke up against how it treats its warehouse workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
- He said the exit would probably personally cost him $1 million.
- Bray tweeted later on Monday that he was already getting approached by rival tech firms, including Google and Huawei.
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The Amazon VP who quit the company with a searing attack on how it targeted whistleblowers says he has been approached by numerous other tech companies already.
Tim Bray's resignation went viral on Monday after the VP — who held the title of "distinguished engineer" — launched an attack on Amazon in a blog post.
Bray wrote he had left the company after it fired workers who openly criticized its warehouse conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, a move he called "chickenshit." (He later retracted the insult, calling it "mean-spirited.")
This seems to have caught the eye of some other tech companies. "Recruiters so far: Google, Comcast, Huawei. And a bunch of startups," Bray tweeted on Monday, adding he's not currently looking for work.
Bray said in his initial blog post that leaving the company would cost him $1 million per year, and speaking to Business Insider's Eugene Kim he added that there was no "agenda" behind the post. "I'm a blogger — I write the story of my life," said Bray.
Bray's concerns come after Amazon fired a number of staff who either organized or protested against the way the firm is operating during the pandemic. Amazon has seen a huge uptick in demand from online shoppers, and has had to balance that demand with the safety of its warehouse workers.
Amazon in March fired employee Chris Smalls after he organized a protest of the working conditions inside the Queens, New York warehouse where he worked. A leaked memo also showed high-level executives discussing Smalls in unflattering terms at a meeting with CEO Jeff Bezos. "He's not smart, or articulate, and to the extent the press wants to focus on us versus him, we will be in a much stronger PR position," Amazon's top lawyer David Zapolsky wrote about Smalls.
Amazon in April also fired two web designers who had criticized the company's treatment of its warehouse workers. One of the designers, Emily Cunningham, thanked Bray for his resignation.