Amazon CEO says AI will lead to smaller workforce

Nearly one in four U.S. tech jobs posted so far this year are seeking employees with AI skills, as per job-listings data

- Sebastian Herrera & Chip Cutter

Amazon.com, one of the largest U.S. employers, plans to reduce its workforce in the coming years because increasing use of artificial intelligence will eliminate the need for certain jobs.

Chief Executive Andy Jassy, in a note to employees Tuesday, called generative artificial intelligence a once-in-a-lifetime technological change that is already altering how Amazon deals with consumers and other businesses and how it conducts its own operations.

He didn't specify how much the size of Amazon's workforce would be reduced but said the efficiency gains from using generative artificial intelligence would result in cuts.

"As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done," he 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."

Amazon doesn't expect to have mass layoffs in the near future like it did in 2022 and 2023, with the decrease in head count expected to happen largely through attrition, people familiar with the matter said.

Yet some teams could see layoffs over time, the people said. Organizations such as teams working on the Alexa smart speaker have previously experienced layoffs.

Jassy's note was among the starkest commentaries to date from a major company on AI's likely impact on employment.