Amazon employees to CEO Andy Jassy: “Nothing more motivating on a Tuesday than…,” after he says AI will take their jobs |
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy delivered a stark warning to the company’s 350,000 corporate employees this week, announcing that artificial intelligence will fundamentally reduce the workforce over the next few years through “efficiency gains.” The memo has sparked immediate backlash across internal company channels, with workers questioning leadership’s vision and expressing concerns about the aggressive AI push.“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today,” Jassy wrote in his company-wide message, predicting the transformation will “reduce our total corporate workforce” as AI agents and generative AI systems take over human roles. Despite the job displacement warning, Jassy urged workers to adapt, stating that “Those who embrace this change will be well-positioned to have high impact.”
Amazon employees critical of CEO Andy Jassy’s message to them
Employee reaction was swift and critical across multiple internal Slack channels viewed by Business Insider. “There is nothing more motivating on a Tuesday than reading that your job will be replaced by AI in a few years,” one worker wrote sarcastically. Others voiced deeper concerns about over-reliance on artificial intelligence without proper safeguards.“It’s dangerous, and it will have real consequences,” warned one employee about leaning too heavily on AI systems that aren’t always reliable sources of truth. The criticism extended to Jassy’s leadership approach, with one worker noting, “He, as the CEO, has shown he can deliver on” cost-cutting “and not the other” aspects of business success.
AI agents drive transformation
Jassy painted a future dominated by billions of AI agents performing complex tasks across every industry, from research and coding to shopping and daily chores. Amazon currently has over 1,000 generative AI services in development, including the next-generation Alexa+ assistant and AI-powered shopping tools used by tens of millions of customers worldwide.Some employees questioned whether the AI-driven cuts would affect senior leadership, noting that Amazon’s executive S-team has only expanded under Jassy’s tenure while rank-and-file workers face displacement.
