• Amazon, the retail giant with tentacles in cloud computing, media, and more, is under fire from multiple fronts. Two whistleblowers—Ahmed Shahrour, a Palestinian software engineer suspended for protesting Amazon’s military contracts with Israel, and me, Helene P. de Boissiere, founder of Katrina’s Dream and a former Amazon warehouse worker terminated after filing an FTC complaint against Jeff Bezos’s potential CNBC acquisition—have brought to light deep-seated issues of ethical misconduct, retaliation, and corporate overreach. These stories unfold alongside Amazon’s recent $2.5 billion FTC settlement for deceiving millions of Prime customers, as well as ongoing allegations of wage theft through practices like off-the-clock work, tip skimming, and unpaid hours. Shahrour and my experiences highlight parallel struggles: one against geopolitical complicity, the other against monopolistic practices, worker exploitation, and systemic labor abuses including wage theft. Together, we signal a reckoning for Amazon’s unchecked power.

Ahmed Shahrour: Suspended for Speaking Out Against Project Nimbus

Ahmed Shahrour, a Seattle-based Palestinian software engineer on Amazon’s Whole Foods technology team, found himself suspended on September 11, 2025, mere hours after posting an impassioned open letter on internal Slack channels. His critique targeted Amazon’s involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud-computing deal with Google to provide AI, data centers, and infrastructure to Israel’s government and military.

In his message, which spread across dozens of channels before being deleted by Amazon, Shahrour evoked personal anguish: “Every day I write code at Whole Foods, I remember my brothers and sisters in Gaza being starved by Israel’s man-made blockade,” he shared in a subsequent Medium post. Accusing the company of facilitating “genocide” via cloud services to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) amid war crime allegations, he drew on Palestinian history by invoking “intifada”—meaning “uprising”—to mobilize colleagues: “We, the workers, outnumber you,” he urged executives to abandon the contract or face resistance.

This act of defiance mirrors broader tech worker unrest. Google fired 28 employees in 2024 for Project Nimbus sit-ins, and Microsoft dismissed others for similar protests. Amazon dismissed a 2023 petition from over 1,700 employees calling for severed ties with Israel. Groups like No Tech for Apartheid condemn these deals for enabling military operations that infringe on human rights.

Amazon’s retort was clinical: Spokesperson Robin Glasser invoked a conduct policy breach, noting AWS serves clients globally. Yet Shahrour persists, garnering support through flyers at Amazon’s Seattle HQ and statements to media like TRT World: “I am left with no choice but to resist.” His suspension underscores the risks tech workers face when confronting corporate roles in international conflicts, a trend rippling to companies like Microsoft.

Deceiving the Devoted: Amazon’s Prime Settlement Exposes Customer Manipulation

Compounding these internal clashes is Amazon’s exploitation of its customer base. On September 25, 2025, the company settled for $2.5 billion—the FTC’s largest civil penalty ever—over allegations of tricking millions into Prime subscriptions via deceptive designs.

The 2023 FTC lawsuit, resolved after trial, claimed Amazon used subtle prompts to enroll users unwittingly, then hid cancellation in a maze known as the “illusion of ease.” This inflated Prime’s 200 million subscribers, raking in billions illicitly. “Amazon weaponized its design choices to make it harder for subscribers to cancel than to sign up,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement.

Reforms now require clearer opt-outs and ban “dark patterns.” But this follows widespread complaints: phishing refund scams, counterfeit items like 900 fake Martha Brook advent calendars pulled in 2024, and a May 2025 incident where a student got a data-laden used laptop with no refund support.

Linked to a 2023 antitrust suit accusing Amazon of dominating 82% of online superstores to crush rivals, this reveals the hidden toll of Amazon loyalty.

Helene P. de Boissiere: My Fight Against Bezos’s Media Ambitions and Amazon’s Retaliation

As Helene P. de Boissiere, founder of Katrina’s Dream—a nonprofit advocating for social justice, women’s rights, and labor equity—I have dedicated my life to challenging systemic injustices. My recent experiences with Amazon exemplify the company’s ruthless tactics against those who speak out, including retaliation for exposing labor abuses like wage theft.

On July 30, 2025, I filed a detailed six-page complaint with the Federal Trade Commission warning about Jeff Bezos’s rumored pursuit of CNBC from Comcast. I argued this could violate Section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act by merging media power with Amazon’s dominance in sectors like streaming (Prime Video, MGM Studios) and books. In my letter, I cataloged Amazon’s transgressions: controlling 60% of print books, 90% of e-books, and 65-90% of audiobooks through predatory pricing, coercive deals, and acquisitions like Audible; illegal anti-union harassment per a 2022 NLRB ruling; dodging $5.2 billion in 2021 federal taxes via loopholes, per ITEP; and systemic OSHA violations, with warehouse injury rates 30% above average in 2023, as detailed in a Senate HELP Committee report. Including my own claim of wage theft, I also highlighted ongoing wage theft issues, such as off-the-clock security screenings that deprive workers of pay for time spent in mandatory checks, as seen in a Maryland Supreme Court ruling earlier this year affirming workers’ rights under state wage laws. Additionally, Amazon’s Flex drivers have filed thousands of claims alleging unpaid overtime and misclassification, contributing to broader patterns of wage theft estimated to cost U.S. workers up to $50 billion annually.

I emphasized how a Bezos-owned CNBC might bias coverage to hide labor abuses, tax fraud, safety lapses, wage theft, and antitrust issues—potentially skewing elections through manipulated narratives. Drawing from the American Booksellers Association’s white paper on Amazon’s “stepping stone to monopoly,” I urged the FTC to coordinate with the IRS, OSHA, and DOJ for a comprehensive investigation. Bezos’s ownership of The Washington Post already amplifies his influence; adding CNBC could entrench monopolies while concealing scandals like those in this article.

But my advocacy cost me dearly. On September 17, 2025—several weeks mailing my complaint—Amazon terminated me from my role as a warehouse worker, where I had advocated for safety improvements and fair wages. The HR email cited “performance concerns and policy violations,” but I know it was retaliation; the timing aligned with my filing going public, and internal reviews of my activities intensified afterward. I refuse to stay silent. I am demanding reinstatement, an investigation into decision-makers (including any corporate monitoring of my advocacy), and training on worker rights, with a focus on ending wage theft practices. “As founder of Katrina’s Dream, I’ve long battled workplace inequities—silencing me only perpetuates Amazon’s harms, including the theft of wages from hardworking employees,” My advocacy is drawing backing from everyday folks to union organizers across the country. Amazon is attempting to thwart my efforts, but my story warns: when Big Tech seeks media control, critics like me become targets, demanding stronger safeguards.”

Toward Accountability: A Call for Change

Shahrour’s suspension and my termination, I reflect, are not isolated but symptomatic of Amazon’s intolerance for dissent. Coupled with the Prime deception and rampant wage theft settlements, they expose a pattern of prioritizing profits over ethics, workers, and consumers. As FTC antitrust trials advance and protests grow, Amazon must confront reform. For voices like Shahrour and mine, justice is overdue in this age of surveillance and global tensions—Amazon’s facade is cracking.