Skip to main content

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos tells employees to cancel all meetings on Juneteenth: 'Slavery ended a long time ago, but racism didn't' (AMZN)

* Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a companywide email on Tuesday that he's canceling all of his meetings on Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end of slavery in the US. * Bezos encouraged Amazon employees to do the same to take some time to "reflect, learn, and support each other," according to the email. * Amazon is the latest high-profile company to instruct employees to take time off on Juneteenth. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wants employees to use June 19, the day known as Juneteenth commemorating the end of slavery in the US, as a day to "reflect, learn, and support each other," according to an internal email obtained by Business Insider. In the email, Bezos said that he's canceling all of his meetings that day, after having spent a lot of time thinking about the recent events that sparked the current Black Lives Matter movement. Although he didn't call it an official day off for the company, he encouraged all employees to cancel their meetings on Friday too, adding the company is offering online learning opportunities about Juneteenth throughout the day. Amazon's representative wasn't immediately available for comment. Recode's Jason Del Rey first tweeted about the email. Amazon is the latest company to instruct employees to cancel all meetings on Juneteenth. Other high-profile companies like Microsoft, Google, and Nike have made similar arrangements for their employees. The move follows growing calls for support of the Black Lives Movement internally at Amazon. An internal climate activist group encouraged employees to join the protests last week, while a group of employees are also taking steps to add "inclusion" to Amazon's famous leadership principles. Several Amazon executives addressed the issue in internal emails as well. Here's the full email Bezos sent to employees: Over the past few weeks, the [S-team] and I have spent a lot of time listening to customers and employees and thinking about how recent events in our country have laid bare the systemic racism and injustices that oppress Black individuals and communities. This Friday, June 19, is Juneteenth, the oldest-known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. I'm cancelling all of my meetings on Friday, and I encourage all of you to do the same if you can. We're providing a range of online learning opportunities for employees throughout the day. Please take some time to reflect, learn, and support each other. Slavery ended a long time ago, but racism didn't. Jeff SEE ALSO: In a leaked document, Amazon employees shared stories of racism and gender discrimination while calling for a new leadership principle on 'inclusion' Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly
https://bit.ly/2UUphii

Popular posts from this blog

PayPal parts with top advertising executive after shifting its marketing strategy during the pandemic

* PayPal's chief creative officer Steve Simpson, its top advertising executive, left the company after about a year. * The move came after PayPal shifted its marketing strategy during the coronavirus pandemic, placing less emphasis on the brand and more on catering to small businesses, said a source with direct knowledge of the marketing operation. * Simpson's departure followed that of CMO and former Apple executive Allison Johnson in May. Both "decided to leave PayPal" as the company streamlines its global marketing functions, according to a PayPal spokeswoman. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. PayPal's highest-ranking ad executive Steve Simpson left earlier this month after just over a year as part of a restructuring of its global marketing business. Simpson, who was chief creative officer, was hired to make high-minded ad campaigns to help PayPal stand out from competitors like Square, Stripe, and Apple Pay. But this strategy chan...
Read more

TikTok confirms it will sue the US government, alleging Trump failed to provide 'due process' before issuing ban

* TikTok confirmed Saturday that the company planned to sue the US government over President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting the popular app. * A company spokesperson said TikTok experienced "a lack of due process as the administration paid no attention to facts and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses." * TikTok, which has surged in popularity over the past year, was known as Musical.ly until it was purchased by the Chinese company ByteDance in 2017 and renamed. * The president on August 6 and August 14 signed executive orders targeting TikTok.  * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. TikTok on Saturday announced it plans to sue the US government over President Donald Trump's executive orders pertaining to its ownership, arguing the company was deprived of its due process rights. The president, who began targeting TikTok in July, issued an executive order August 6 making it illegal for American compani...
Read more

A pair of former champions headline UFC Fight Night: Munhoz vs Edgar — How to watch

  * UFC Fight Night: Munhoz vs Edgar will be streamed live on August 22, exclusively through the ESPN+ streaming service. * In the main event, former UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will make his debut in the bantamweight division in the 27th match of his UFC career. * With 13 career wins by knockout or submission, 5th ranked Pedro Munhoz is the former Resurrection Fighting Alliance bantamweight champion and one of the UFC division's most formidible fighters. * Prelims are set to start at 6 p.m. ET and the main card is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET. * Every UFC Fight Night event is included with an ESPN+ subscription, which costs $6.99 per month or $49.99 per year. Product Card Module: Monthly Subscription Service Card size: small Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will make his bantamweight debut against #5 ranked Pedro Munhoz in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Munhoz vs Edgar on August 22. Munhoz has dominated opponents in his 18 career wins...
Read more