Amazon layoffs to continue; CEO Andy Jassy to employees: I could go on, but you get the idea
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy have told employees that artificial intelligence will reduce the company’s corporate workforce over the next few years as it integrates more AI tools and agents across its operations.“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy wrote in an internal memo. “It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”The announcement affects Amazon’s 1.56 million global workforce, though Jassy didn’t specify which departments or how many positions would be eliminated. The company has already laid off more than 27,000 employees since 2022, including recent cuts to its devices and services units.
Amazon CEO says AI revolution already underway at company
Amazon is deploying generative AI across virtually every business unit, from its Alexa+ personal assistant to shopping features and advertising tools. “In our fulfillment network, we’re using AI to improve inventory placement, demand forecasting, and the efficiency of our robots,” Jassy explained.The company currently has “over 1,000 Generative AI services and applications in progress or built,” but Jassy emphasized this represents just “a small fraction of what we will ultimately build.” He described AI agents as software systems that can perform complex tasks, from web research to code writing, predicting “billions of these agents, across every company and in every imaginable field.”
Jassy to employees: Adapt or risk obsolescence
Jassy advised workers to embrace the transformation, writing: “Be curious about AI, educate yourself, attend workshops and take trainings, use and experiment with AI whenever you can.” He emphasized that employees should learn “how to get more done with scrappier teams.”“Those who embrace this change, become conversant in AI, help us build and improve our AI capabilities internally and deliver for customers, will be well-positioned to have high impact,” Jassy stated.Amazon joins other tech companies making similar workforce predictions. Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke recently told employees they must prove they “cannot get what they want done using AI” before requesting additional resources, while Klarna has reduced its headcount by 40% partly due to AI investments.Jassy called generative AI “the most transformative technology since the Internet” and “a once-in-a-lifetime reinvention of everything we know,” signaling Amazon’s commitment to AI-driven operational changes despite potential job losses.
