Amazon CEO Warns AI Will Reduce Corporate Workforce

Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, has sent a clear message to employees: Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the company, and that will mean a leaner corporate workforce in the coming years.

In a recent memo to Amazon staff, Jassy said the company’s growing reliance on AI will lead to “efficiency gains,” ultimately reducing the number of people required for certain tasks.

He wrote, “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.”

While he didn’t disclose specific numbers, he made it clear that this shift would result in a smaller corporate headcount.

The move aligns with broader industry trends, as companies increasingly turn to generative AI to perform routine intellectual tasks. Jassy’s memo advised employees to “be curious about AI” and emphasized that those who adapt quickly will have the greatest opportunities ahead.

Embracing AI Across Amazon

Jassy said Amazon is now deploying AI in “virtually every corner of the company,” including retail, advertising, and internal operations. More than “half a million” Amazon sellers are already using its AI tools to create product content, and advertisers have started leveraging AI-powered services.

He added that “many of these agents have yet to be built, but make no mistake, they’re coming and coming fast,” referring to future tools that will simplify everyday activities like shopping and task management.

Industry-Wide Concerns Over Job Losses

Amazon isn’t alone in forecasting major shifts due to AI. Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke and Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn have both indicated that AI will replace traditional roles in their companies. Lütke has even asked employees to justify hiring requests by explaining why the work “cannot get what they want done using AI.”

Experts have expressed concern over AI’s impact on entry-level white-collar jobs. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, said AI could eliminate “half of entry-level white-collar jobs.”

Meanwhile, Geoffrey Hinton—often referred to as the “Godfather of AI”—has cautioned that “if it can do all mundane human intellectual labor, then what new jobs is it going to create?”

A Leaner Future for Corporate Staff

Jassy acknowledged the uncertainty ahead but maintained that change is necessary.

“It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time,” he wrote, “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.”

Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the U.S. after Walmart, currently employs over 1.5 million people globally. About 350,000 of them serve in corporate roles. Since 2022, the company has already laid off over 27,000 employees across multiple departments, including devices, services, and books.

With more than 1,000 AI tools already developed or in progress, Amazon is preparing for what Jassy calls just a “small fraction” of what the future holds.

Employees who evolve alongside these tools, he says, will be “well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company.”