Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced in a letter to employees on Tuesday (June 17th) that the e-commerce giant will reduce its workforce in the coming years due to the promotion of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and intelligent agents.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the global workforce by automating routine and repetitive tasks, leading industry leaders to predict that this will result in some positions being cut or transformed across various industries.
Despite uncertainties, many experts believe that artificial intelligence will not result in mass unemployment, but rather lead to a restructuring of the workforce.
Jassy stated, “As we introduce more Generative Artificial Intelligence and intelligent agents, it will change the way we work. We will need fewer people for certain tasks that are currently being done, and will require more people for other types of work.”
As of the end of last year, Amazon had over 1.5 million full-time and part-time employees. The company also hires temporary workers and independent contractors as needed.
Jassy mentioned that Amazon is extensively using Generative Artificial Intelligence internally to enhance efficiency and customer experience.
He also added that Amazon is utilizing artificial intelligence to optimize inventory management and demand forecasting in its delivery network, upgrading customer service chatbots, and improving product detail pages.
Gil Luria, an analyst at financial services firm D.A. Davidson, commented, “Amazon is sending a message that we have heard increasingly from other tech companies—artificial intelligence is progressing so rapidly in enhancing productivity that the need for hiring will decrease over time.”
“The primary positions currently being enhanced are software development, which is also the area where we see the most pronounced slowdown in hiring.”
Microsoft has emphasized the productivity enhancements of artificial intelligence but has also laid off thousands of employees. Google reportedly cut hundreds of jobs in the past year. Other tech companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence to write code for their products and internal operations.
(This article is based on a report from Reuters)