Amazon says it will reduce headcount due to AI efficiency

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sent a company-wide email to workers yesterday, touting the progress they are making on AI implementation.

In it, he says AI agents are coming, and coming fast — and «it should change the way our work is done.»

Using AI everywhere
He wrote that Amazon has been on the bleeding edge of the revolution and is using AI in «virtually every corner of the company,» and goes on to list everything from intelligent shopping assistants to Alexa+.

Amazon has more that 1 000 generative services and applications built or in progress, Jassy says.

According to CNBC, Amazon is on track to spend $100 billion on AI this year, calling it «a once in a lifetime opportunity.»

Workforce reductions coming
The email does come with a warning for the 1.5 million employees of the company, though:

— We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, Jassy says, — and more people doing other types of jobs.

And he goes on:

— In the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.

Be prepared, or else…
The email then asks employees to be prepared for the coming era of AI agents, saying they should be curious about using AI, attend workshops, experiment and familiarize themselves with the technology, while leaving out the obvious — anyone without basic AI skills are at risk, and the best opportunities will come to the AI savvy.

It’s the «most transformative technology since the Internet,» Jassy says, and those who embrace it «will be well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company.»

Read more: The Jassy memo, coverage on NBC and Gizmodo. See also Tag: work.