By Arriana McLymore
NEW YORK, NY (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc investors voted against all 18 shareholder-led proposals during the e-commerce giant’s annual meeting on Wednesday, a preliminary tally by the company showed.
The total exceeded Amazon’s 2022 record of 15 as environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused investors pushed for changes ranging from warehouse workers rights, union rights, gender and racial pay and animal welfare standards.
Proposals need more than 50% of shareholder votes to win, but Amazon is not required to adopt them. Amazon will provide the final tally an upcoming U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Activist investor Tulipshare, which owns about $7,000 in Amazon shares, proposed an independent audit of the retailer’s warehouses after the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited violations.
Tulipshare CEO Antoine Argouges said in an emailed statement that his firm would continue to request meetings with Amazon.
According to Amazon’s proxy statement, the company has “engaged with” at least 70 of its 100 largest unaffiliated investors and “numerous other shareholders.”
(Reporting by Arriana McLymore in New York City; Editing by Richard Chang)