Amazon CEO: AI will shrink corporate workforce in coming years

Amazon’s corporate workforce will shrink in the coming years as generative AI takes hold, CEO Andy Jassy told employees Tuesday.

In a memo to employees, shared publicly via Amazon’s blog, Jassy wrote that generative AI and agents will fundamentally reshape how work gets done at the Seattle-based tech giant.

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

Amazon joins a growing cadre of tech companies publicly sharing how they are prioritizing AI in a bid to increase productivity.

The memo also comes amid growing fears that AI will replace white-collar jobs — including software engineering roles.

Amazon’s corporate workforce numbered around 350,000 in early 2023. It has not provided an updated number since then.

The company’s last significant layoff occurred in 2023 when it cut 27,000 corporate workers. Since then the company has made a series of smaller layoffs across different business units.

Jassy encouraged employees to embrace AI, attend workshops, and find ways to use it in daily work — framing the transition as a chance to do more with smaller, scrappier teams.

“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,” Jassy wrote.

In the memo, Jassy said AI is now integrated “in virtually every corner” of Amazon — Alexa+, shopping tools, fulfillment logistics, advertising, AWS services, and more.

Jassy also described a future filled with “AI agents” capable of automating everything from research and coding to shopping and daily tasks.

He said more than 1,000 AI services and applications have already been built or are underway — “a small fraction of what we will ultimately build.”

Amazon reported 1.56 million total employees, including warehouse workers, as of March 31 — up 3% year-over-year.