An Amazon Fulfillment Center in Dupont, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)

Amazon’s logistics chief penned a blog post Thursday, hours after a leaked memo revealed an unflattering glimpse into the company’s PR strategy toward a fired warehouse worker who organized a walkout in New York this week.

Coronavirus Live Updates: The latest COVID-19 developments in Seattle and the world of tech

The worker, Christian Smalls, wanted Amazon to do more to protect warehouse workers amid the COVID-19 outbreak. He was fired Monday for breaking quarantine and possibly exposing other workers to COVID-19, according to Amazon.

The leaked memo published by Vice News showed that Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky called Smalls “not smart or articulate” and sought to make him the face of the labor movement in the New York facility. Critics blasted the Seattle tech giant for its response.

Amazon says it is going to great lengths to protect employees on the front lines, but current and former workers who spoke with GeekWire this week say its statements don’t always match the experience on the warehouse floor. Employee concerns bubbled over in the form of walkouts at fulfillment centers in New York, Chicago, and Detroit this week, with workers demanding Amazon shut down facilities with confirmed cases for thorough cleaning.

Dave Clark, senior VP of Worldwide Operations, published a blog post Thursday afternoon that addressed the protests.

“We want to be very clear that we respect the rights of these employees to protest and recognize their legal right to do so,” Clark wrote. “At the same time, these rights do not provide a blanket immunity against bad actions, particularly those that endanger the health, and potentially the lives, of colleagues.”

Clark said “this is not about any one individual.”

“When anyone on our team at any level purposely puts the health of others at risk, we will take swift, decisive action without concern about external reaction,” he wrote. “We did not, and have not ever, terminated an associate for speaking out on their working conditions, but we will act swiftly with individuals who purposely put others at risk.”

Clark previously tweeted about the situation on Wednesday in response to Sen. Bernie Sanders, calling the Democratic presidential candidate “misinformed.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the firing of Smalls “disgraceful” and asked the National Labor Relations Board to investigate.

At least 30 of the fulfillment centers that power Amazon’s e-commerce business have outbreaks of COVID-19, according to local news reports and employee accounts. The mounting cases are sparking walkouts, frustration, and an unprecedented challenge for a tech company that finds itself at the center of the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon says it has implemented sweeping new measures to protect employees at its fulfillment centers, but current and former workers who spoke with GeekWire this week say its statements don’t always match the experience on the warehouse floor. During the walkouts this week, workers demanded Amazon shut down facilities with confirmed cases for thorough cleaning.

Amazon has made more than 150 “significant process changes” in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to an earlier blog post Clark published Thursday.

On Sunday, Amazon started screening employee temperatures at warehouses in New York and the Seattle area, sending anyone who registers above 100.4 degrees home. Clark said Amazon will roll out temperature screening across its facilities, including Whole Foods stores, next week.

Amazon expanded its sick policies, providing two weeks paid time off for employees who test positive for COVID-19 or are asked to quarantine due to exposure. The company is also offering unlimited unpaid time off to all employees.

Clark said that disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer are readily available in all fulfillment centers, though some workers say they do not have access to those supplies.

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