06-26-2025
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told his employees that AI will ultimately reduce the company’s headcount. The company is going to get “scrappier.” He wants employees to figure out “how to get more done” with fewer people, with AI reducing their “total corporate workforce.” Amazon employs about 1.5 million workers and is the second-largest private employer in the US. Jassy also said that AI and the use of chatbots will mean some people may need to do other types of jobs within the organization.
Amazon already has “1,000 generative AI services and applications in progress or built” within the company. Jassy said this amount is just the tip of the iceberg. He said, “We’re going to lean in further in the coming months. We’re going to make it much easier to build agents, and then build on several new agents across all of our business units.” Jassy encouraged employees to learn more about AI and use it to remain competitive at the company, including brainstorming on how to be more productive. Employees who embrace the changes, become well-versed in AI, and help the company build and improve AI internally, “will be well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company.”
Workplace commentators told Business Insider that Jassy’s “candor” could prompt other business leaders to say to their employees how AI will impact them. Shopify’s CEO told their employees, "AI usage is now a baseline expectation.” Managers must prove that AI could not do a better job before hiring. Klarna’s CEO said they have stopped hiring because “AI can already do all of the job that we as humans do.” Although Klarna had to hire back some of the employees it laid off in 2022 to improve its services