Amazon CEO bluntly states that AI will replace a large number of jobs: the number of headquarters employees will significantly decrease in the coming years

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently made a clear statement: the promotion of generative AI in the coming years will "reduce" the number of employees in the company.

In a memo to employees on Tuesday, Jassy stated,

“As we roll out more generative AI tools and intelligent agents, the way we work will change, and we will no longer need as many people doing certain jobs as we do now, but will need more people doing other types of work.”

He further pointed out:

“While it is currently difficult to accurately assess the final outcome, we expect that in the coming years, as the efficiency gains from the widespread use of AI in the company take effect, our total number of corporate employees will decrease.”

Jassy also offered advice to employees in his statement, emphasizing that AI is “the most transformative technology since the internet,” and encouraged employees to proactively adapt to the workplace transformation brought about by new technologies.

According to financial reports, as of the end of March, Amazon had a total of 1.56 million full-time and part-time employees worldwide, in addition to a large number of temporary workers and warehouse contractors. This statement comes as Amazon has laid off more than 27,000 employees since 2022. This year, Amazon has conducted multiple rounds of layoffs, including approximately 200 layoffs in the North American retail department in January and about 100 layoffs in the devices and services department in May. Media reports indicate that it is unclear which specific positions or departments will be affected by AI-driven layoffs.

Jassy stated that Amazon has widely applied generative AI internally, including using the technology to optimize inventory allocation, forecast demand, and enhance warehouse robot efficiency within its fulfillment network. Earlier media reports indicated that Amazon has frozen its hiring budget for its retail business this year. In the earnings call in March, Amazon announced it would invest $100 billion in capital expenditures, most of which will be used for AI and data center construction.

Layoffs Driven by AI May Intensify

Jassy is not the only executive to indicate that advancements in AI may lead to layoffs. Discussions related to layoffs are shifting from hypothetical speculation to a common topic in reality.

Earlier reports indicated that BT CEO Allison Kirkby warned that AI could lead to further layoffs. The company announced plans to cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030 in 2023. In April, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke stated that employees wishing to request additional hires or resources must first prove that AI cannot perform their jobs.

At the end of May, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated that AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs. Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski mentioned earlier this month that he expects the impact of AI on white-collar jobs to be significant enough to trigger an economic recession.

Micha Kaufman, founder and CEO of Fiverr, wrote in an email sent to employees and shared on LinkedIn in April:

"Whether you are a programmer, designer, project manager, data scientist, lawyer, customer service representative, salesperson, or finance professional—AI is closing in on you."

Amazon has recently made significant investments in the AI field, not only launching a large number of self-developed products but also accelerating the construction of data centers to meet the surging technological demand.

In his latest letter to shareholders, Jassy stated that generative AI is a "once-in-a-lifetime comprehensive reshaping" that can "save the company a significant amount of costs" and will bring about changes in various fields such as programming, search, financial services, and shopping.

"Its development speed is almost surpassing all previous technologies."