Amazon Engineers Push Seattle Data Centre Moratorium
Three Amazon engineers walked into a Seattle City Council meeting on June 3, 2026, and publicly challenged their own employer. Liesl Wigand, Patrick Schloesser, and Darius Irani spoke at the Land Use and Sustainability Committee hearing.
They backed efforts to limit new mega data centre construction in Seattle. The council’s Land Use and Sustainability Committee unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new large-scale artificial intelligence data centres to give the city time to develop rules for such projects.
What the Engineers Said in Public
Schloesser, who has worked at Amazon for nearly six years, urged Seattle officials to require data centre developers to commit to using renewable energy to power facilities and to no longer use non-disclosure agreements or shell companies when announcing new projects.
“You’ve got to provide good jobs building these things, and you’ve got to pay a new tax that funds city jobs every time you conduct a large layoff,” Schloesser said. Amazon engineers railed at their employer for conducting mass layoffs while committing to spend $200 billion this year on AI infrastructure, including data centres.
Schloesser put the contrast plainly. “It’s been reported that this year, Amazon is spending $200 billion on capital, with most of it going to data centres and AI. Meanwhile, the leaders at my company have laid off 30,000 corporate employees in the last eight months.”
What Triggered the Hearing
The moratorium push started after four developers submitted proposals to Seattle City Light. The projects included five large facilities. Together, they carried a maximum demand of 369 megawatts. That is enough to power about 300,000 homes.
Public backlash followed quickly. As a result, two of the four developers withdrew their proposals before any vote. If adopted, the moratorium would take effect immediately. It would last 365 days. It would also include a resolution requesting impact studies on grid capacity, water use, utility rates, land use, public health, and jobs.
Meanwhile, the Seattle push reflects a wider national debate on data centre expansion. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that 14 states have introduced data centre legislation.
Amazon’s response and next steps
Amazon responded briefly to CNBC. The company said it has no plans to build data centres inside Seattle city limits. It also said it continues to focus on energy efficiency, water conservation, and local economic development in areas where it operates.
Separately, layoffs mentioned by Schloesser form part of CEO Andy Jassy’s broader plan to reduce management layers and streamline operations.
Ultimately, the debate is not about whether AI data centres will be built. That decision is already made. Instead, the focus is on who pays, who benefits, and whether affected communities and workers have a voice.
Finally, the Seattle council moratorium now moves to the full city council for final consideration.
