David Zapolsky, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Amazon.com Inc. (Courtesy photo)

In response to reports that he derided a Staten Island warehouse worker who organized a strike over working conditions, Amazon Inc. general counsel David Zapolsky said he was "frustrated and upset."

"My comments were personal and emotional," Zapolsky said in a statement. "I was frustrated and upset that an Amazon employee would endanger the health and safety of other Amazonians by repeatedly returning to the premises after having been warned to quarantine himself after exposure to virus Covid-19. I let my emotions draft my words and get the better of me." 

Zapolsky issued the statement after Vice News reported that it had obtained leaked notes from a meeting of Amazon leadership. During the meeting, Zapolsky reportedly insulted warehouse employee Christian Smalls, who has been fired.

"He's not smart, or articulate, and to the extent the press wants to focus on us versus him, we will be in a much stronger PR position than simply explaining for the umpteenth time how we're trying to protect workers," Zapolsky wrote in notes from the meeting, which Vice reported were "forwarded widely in the company." 

Zapolsky also reportedly wrote: "We should spend the first part of our response strongly laying out the case for why the organizer's conduct was immoral, unacceptable, and arguably illegal, in detail, and only then follow with our usual talking points about worker safety. Make him the most interesting part of the story, and if possible make him the face of the entire union/organizing movement."

An Amazon spokesman declined to confirm or comment on the "authenticity of any email/memo reported on by Vice." The outlet also reported that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos attended the meeting, which was a management-level daily briefing on the coronavirus COVID-19 situation.

Amazon has stated that Smalls was fired because he violated the company's 14-day quarantine policy by returning to work after coming into contact with a co-worker who tested positive for COVID-19.

Smalls contends that Amazon retaliated against him for organizing a walkout and speaking out about fears of a coronavirus outbreak at the warehouse where he worked.

The leaked notes have sparked a growing scandal. After the story broke on Thursday, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Amazon on Twitter. 

"Amazon's attempt to smear Chris Smalls, one of their own warehouse workers, as 'not smart or articulate' is a racist & classist PR campaign," she wrote. "If execs are as concerned abt [sic] worker health & safety as they claim, then they should provide the full paid sick leave ALL workers deserve."

Amazon now faces a difficult public relations situation in which it is positioned as a "mighty corporation … bringing its weighty hammer down on one warehouse worker," noted Billy Warden, a crisis management specialist at GBW Strategies.

Zapolsky's "statement attempts to address this by shifting the focus from the company's power to one executive's 'emotions.' That's a canny move in theory, but for some it may not be convincing as much of the leaked memo—assuming what's been reported is accurate—does not seem particularly emotional," Warden said. 

He added, "So while the company has offered an explanation and can attempt to move on, which is very important, this episode is likely to live on. Corporations in this position must then figure out how to effectively get across positive news."