Amazon CEO Says AI Will Reduce Corporate Workforce

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees Tuesday that artificial intelligence will likely lead to a smaller corporate workforce, as the company increasingly relies on automation to drive efficiency.

In a memo to staff, Jassy said that while AI will create new types of roles, it will also reduce the number of people needed for many jobs currently performed by humans.

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

The announcement comes as Amazon scales up its AI efforts across nearly every division. Jassy noted that generative AI is being used “in virtually every corner of the company.” According to Amazon’s latest annual report, the company employs over 1.5 million people globally.

$100 Billion Bet on AI Infrastructure

Amazon is backing its AI ambitions with significant capital. The company plans to invest $100 billion this year into data centers and infrastructure that support AI services—up from $83 billion in 2023. Jassy believes this investment will support a wave of innovation driven by emerging “AI agents.”

“Many of these agents have yet to be built,” he said. “They’re coming, and fast.” He described them as technologies that will “change how we all work and live” and “change the scope and speed at which we can innovate for customers.”

Amazon currently has more than a thousand AI-powered tools and applications either in use or under development.

Industry-Wide Shift Toward AI-Driven Workforce Reduction

Amazon is one of many major employers signaling a shift in workforce planning driven by AI. Corporate leaders across sectors—from tech to telecom—have cited AI as a reason to slow hiring or reduce headcount:

• Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike cut 5% of its workforce in May, citing AI-driven efficiencies in both customer-facing and internal roles.
  

• Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke said managers must justify why they can't use AI before requesting new hires, calling AI a “mind-blowing step function change.”
  

• Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn told employees the company would phase out contract roles that could be handled by AI, stating that “headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work.”
  

• BT Group, a major U.K. telecom firm, announced plans to eliminate 40,000 jobs over the next decade. Its CEO said the forecast did not fully reflect AI’s potential to reshape the business.
  

• A recent study by Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that AI could replace up to 200,000 banking jobs, underscoring the broader concern among white-collar professionals about the pace of automation.

What This Means

Amazon’s acknowledgment that AI will reduce corporate roles adds weight to a growing trend: AI is no longer just a tool for innovation—it’s becoming a driver of workforce restructuring. As companies pursue efficiency through automation, many traditional knowledge-worker roles are being reevaluated.

What’s notable isn’t just the job cuts—it’s the speed and tone of the shift. For years, companies framed AI as a way to support employees by automating repetitive tasks. Now, that narrative is evolving. Leaders like Jassy, Lütke, and von Ahn are openly positioning AI as a replacement for roles that were previously considered secure, especially in white-collar fields like management, coding, content moderation, and administrative operations.

This shift raises critical questions about how fast the transition is happening and whether workers—and even companies—are prepared. It’s not just low-skill or front-line positions being restructured. Roles once considered “safe” due to creativity, strategy, or communication are increasingly within AI’s reach. And unlike past automation waves, which were more predictable and industry-specific, this one cuts across sectors.

Amazon’s scale makes its direction especially significant. If the company redefines how it allocates talent, others will likely follow. The real challenge ahead is not whether AI can replace some types of work—it’s how companies will balance those changes with reskilling, transparency, and long-term workforce planning.

The transition may not be immediate, but the message is clear: the future of work at Amazon—and in corporate America more broadly—is being rewritten by AI. And as that shift accelerates, navigating it will require foresight from both employers and employees, who may find the ground shifting faster than expected.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.