Amazon employees criticise CEO Andy Jassy after admitting AI will replace jobs in future

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently told staff that the company’s corporate workforce will shrink over the next few years due to efficiency gains from artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, according to a memo sent last week.

The announcement caused immediate backlash across internal company channels, as reported by Business Insider.

One employee wrote in a Slack channel, “There is nothing more motivating on a Tuesday than reading that your job will be replaced by AI in a few years.” A Slack channel is a platform where teams within organisations communicate, share tools, and exchange files.


Another responded, “At least he said the quiet part out loud. We all knew it but now it's clearly part of the plan.”

Some employees voiced concern over Amazon’s increasing reliance on AI and urged the company to rethink its approach. One worker even criticised Jassy’s leadership, saying, “He, as the CEO, has shown he can deliver on one of those things and not the other.”

In his memo, Jassy explained that the rise of generative AI (GenAI) and automation tools will significantly transform how work is done. “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.

Amazon had more than 1.5 million full-time and part-time employees at the end of last year.

Earlier in the month, Business Insider also revealed that the company is freezing its hiring budget for the retail division for the rest of the year.