Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy told employees that he anticipates artificial intelligence will lead to workforce reductions.
“As we roll out more generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today and more people doing other types of jobs. 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 as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company,” Jassy said in a statement.
He said artificial intelligence will have an impact on software developers as well as employees in Amazon warehouses, where the technology is expected to “improve inventory placement, demand forecasting, and the efficiency of our robots.”
Although some tech companies have mandated AI use for employees, highlighting productivity gains and opportunities for personal growth, Amazon’s announcement has sparked renewed debate over whether AI will eliminate jobs or create new ones.
Dario Amodei, Anthropic chief executive, warned that the technology he is developing could cause unemployment to surge to as high as 20% within the next few years by potentially eliminating up to half of all entry-level white-collar jobs.
Looking ahead, Jassy urged employees aiming for long-term careers at Amazon to embrace and maximise the use of the technology.
“As we go through this transformation together, be curious about AI, educate yourself, attend workshops and take trainings, use and experiment with AI whenever you can,” he said.
“Those who embrace this change, become conversant in AI, help us build and improve our AI capabilities internally and deliver for customers will be well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company.”