Amazon to conduct racial equity audit led by former US attorney general

Amazon said it will conduct an audit, led by former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, to "evaluate any disparate racial impacts" of its policies on its US hourly employees.

The move, which Amazon (AMZN) disclosed in a filing late last week, followed shareholder pressure to conduct a racial equity audit to address what the shareholders described as controversies around the company's hiring practices and its ability to protect warehouse workers, many of whom are Black.

The shareholder proposal to conduct an audit was submitted by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on behalf of the New York State Common Retirement Fund and put forward ahead of Amazon's annual shareholder meeting next month.