Several Amazon engineers attended a Seattle City Council hearing on Wednesday, voicing support for new local regulations to control the construction of large-scale artificial intelligence data centers. They pointed out that while the company is aggressively building such facilities, it is simultaneously conducting large-scale layoffs.
Amazon.com Web Services (AWS) software engineer Patrick Schlosser stated at the hearing, "Reports indicate Amazon's capital expenditure this year will reach $200 billion, with the majority directed towards data centers and artificial intelligence. Microsoft's investment stands at $190 billion. Concurrently, my company's leadership has laid off 30,000 employees over the past eight months. This demonstrates that major tech firms are racing to build as much computing power as possible."
The Seattle City Council's Land Use and Sustainability Committee voted on Wednesday to impose a one-year pause on approving new large-scale AI data center projects, allowing the city time to develop regulations for such developments. This proposal came after four developers submitted proposals to a local utility company to build five major data centers in Seattle. Two of those developers later withdrew their proposals following public protests.
Seattle is joining a growing list of cities and counties attempting to impose restrictions on the rapid expansion of AI data centers. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 14 states are considering legislation to pause or prohibit new data center construction. A report from the Data Center Watch organization noted that in 2025, at least $156 billion worth of data center projects have been stalled or delayed due to local opposition and legal challenges.
However, the industry's largest tech firms show no signs of slowing down their development pace.
Amazon.com, Microsoft, Google's parent company Alphabet, and Meta have collectively committed approximately $700 billion in capital expenditure this year, primarily for AI infrastructure development. At the same time, these tech giants, along with others in the sector, are seeking ways to reduce costs, including through workforce reductions.
The 30,000 job cuts at Amazon.com referenced by Schlosser occurred progressively after last October. These were part of CEO Andy Jassy's initiative to streamline the organization, reduce bureaucracy, and enable the company to operate, in his words, like "the world's largest startup."
Schlosser, who has worked at Amazon.com for nearly six years, urged Seattle officials to require data center developers to commit to powering their facilities with renewable energy and to stop using non-disclosure agreements or shell companies when announcing new projects.
Schlosser said, "There must be industries that provide stable jobs to manufacture these products, and every time there is a mass layoff, a new tax should be levied to fund city employment programs."
Schlosser and the two other Amazon engineers who spoke at the hearing are members of the "Amazon Employees for Climate Justice" group. This coalition of current and former Amazon employees has repeatedly pressured the e-commerce giant on its climate policies, employee treatment, and other related issues.
Last November, the group sent a letter to Amazon executives, calling on the company to "adopt a more responsible approach to the rollout of AI" and to "face up to the costs of AI and the safeguards we need."
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