AI Will Shrink Amazon's Workforce In the Coming Years, CEO Jassy Says

In a memo to employees on Tuesday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the company's corporate workforce will shrink in the coming years as it adopts more generative AI tools and agents. 'We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,' Jassy said. '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.' CNBC reports: Jassy wrote that employees should learn how to use AI tools and experiment and figure out 'how to get more done with scrappier teams.' The directive comes as Amazon has laid off more than 27,000 employees since 2022 and made several cuts this year. Amazon cut about 200 employees in its North America stores unit in January and a further 100 in its devices and services unit in May. Amazon had 1.56 million full-time and part-time employees in its global workforce as of the end of March, according to financial filings. The company also employs temporary workers in its warehouse operations, along with some contractors.

Amazon is using generative AI broadly across its internal operations, including in its fulfillment network where the technology is being deployed to assist with inventory placement, demand forecasting and the efficiency of warehouse robots, Jassy said. In his most recent letter to shareholders, Jassy called generative AI a 'once-in-a-lifetime reinvention of everything we know.' He added that the technology is 'saving companies lots of money,' and stands to shift the norms in coding, search, financial services, shopping and other areas. 'It's moving faster than almost anything technology has ever seen,' Jassy said.

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