Amazon CEO Andy Jassy doubles down on his message to employees: We will need fewer people doing ...
Amazon
CEO
Andy Jassy
doubled down on his prediction that artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs across the company's workforce, telling CNBC that "there will be fewer people doing some of the jobs that the technology actually starts to automate" during a Monday interview. The comments reinforce a stark warning Jassy delivered to Amazon's 1.5 million employees in a company-wide memo last month about AI's impact on employment.
Amazon's corporate workforce faces CEO's 'fewer people' reality
"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 his June 17 internal memo. The Amazon chief expects "this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains" from using AI extensively across the company's operations over the next few years.
The transformation particularly targets Amazon's corporate employees working in software engineering, marketing, and other white-collar positions. Last year, Jassy said an AI coding assistant saved Amazon programmers 4,500 years of work by speeding up the task of upgrading software. AI agents now handle coding, analytics, and research tasks that previously required human workers.
Amazon deploys Over 1,000 AI systems despite employee concerns
Amazon currently operates more than 1,000 generative AI services across its business units, from the next-generation Alexa+ personal assistant to AI-powered shopping tools used by tens of millions of customers worldwide. The company recently deployed its millionth robot at a fulfillment center in Japan, with more than 75% of global deliveries now assisted by robot automation.
Jassy said Monday that AI will free employees from "rote work" and "make all our jobs more interesting," while enabling staff to focus on innovation and higher-value tasks. However, internal employee reactions have been sharply critical, with one worker writing sarcastically on company Slack channels: "There is nothing more motivating on a Tuesday than reading that your job will be replaced by AI in a few years."
Amazon has already cut more than 27,000 jobs since 2022 through rolling layoffs, with additional workforce reductions continuing in 2025 across its retail and devices divisions.
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