Andy Jassy’s comment on AI Sparks workers’ rebound on Amazon

Amazon’s corporate workforce woke up Tuesday and CEO Andy Jassy posted a not-so-concerned note: The AI ​​era is here – your job may not be.

There is no good ending inside.

According to business insiderswhite-collar employees strive to retreat from internal loose channels. In the news viewed by the publication, some employees said the news was dismayed. Others accused Jassy of prioritizing AI over human impact. “Nothing is more motivated on Tuesday than reading what your work will be replaced by AI,” one employee said.

Another joked: “At least [Jassy] The quiet part said loudly. ”

In company-wide memorandum Jassy – From customer service to code writing to warehouse logistics. He said the technology is already simplifying operations and enables new tools like Alexa+, Buy For Me, and an inflated army of more than 750,000 warehouse robots. But, he said, efficiency gains will not only change how Amazon works—they will change the people who perform their work.

“We will need fewer people to do what we are doing today, and more people to do other types of jobs,” Jassie wrote. This could mean a decrease in the number of people on the company side; Amazon has laid off more than 27,000 workers since the end of 2022.

While some employees said in the news that mid-level management can be replaced with AI without any consequences – “No one will notice,” someone wrote – a broader emotional bias. Employees say Amazon is choosing to use AI to reduce employees rather than expanding what existing teams can do.

Jassy wrote in an email that research, abstracts, anomaly detection, translation, coding, etc. will soon be delegated to robots that have become smarter over time, allowing people to “reduce their work on rote memory and focus more on strategic thinking.”

“Agents will enable us to start almost everything from a more advanced starting point,” he wrote. They will “change the scope and speed at which we can innovate for our customers.” Jassy encourages employees to “complete with more scratchy teams”, take training courses, and adopt an AI-first mindset. In his words, those who embrace AI and help Amazon build their own future will “have a good impact, have a lot of influence and help us reshape the company.”

In his annual shareholder letter in April, he said Amazon needs to operate Just like “the world’s largest startup” But in recent news, some employees described Amazon’s culture as increasingly focused on cutting costs rather than innovation, and questioned why AI-driven downsizing seem to be targeting jobs and archives, rather than Amazon’s growing executive staff. “Will this lead to a decrease in SVP?” one employee asked.

Another wrote: “It seems to be [antithesis] Thinking about the big, it’s part of the ongoing trend that our CEOs seem to have no vision for the company, rather than “doing what’s cheaper today, AI will happen.”

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

In the memo, Jassy said employees who embrace the AI-first mindset will have “a good place” to help reshape the company. But, one employee wrote that the company’s hub was “dangerous” and that “it would have real consequences.”

Amazon echoes debate Greater tensions in big technology. Microsoft, Google and others are putting billions of dollars into AI while working to reduce their employees. Startups such as Harvey and Adept are building AI agents designed to handle knowledge work. and Leadership Voice – Jensen Huang from Nvidia Dario Amodei to the human – Warning that widespread displacement is coming.

On Amazon, that future seems to be less theoretically in a day.