[Nacraile]

They haven't sold their ethics because they didn't have those ethics in the first place, and haven't ever seriously tried to pretend otherwise. Amazon is pretty transparently in business to make money, with little regard for anything else. The closest thing they have to ethics is "Customer Obsession", but even that is explicitly justified as a means to maximize long-term profit.

I really don't know how this response surprised any of their employees (as a previous employee, it certainly does not surprise me). Those who can't abide it oughtn't work there; this isn't something that is going to be changed from the inside.