Amazon to Lay Off More Employees as AI Dominates All Departments

Such automation requires fewer workers to do the same job, Jesse explained. He described AI as the “most transformative technology” in the company’s operations. But the Amazon chief acknowledged that AI will also create other kinds of jobs.

Jesse added that Amazon will be hiring more AI and robotics specialists, as well as employees for other tech sectors.

More than 500 Amazon job postings on LinkedIn in the past month include the word "robotics" in the job title, indicating the company's focus on expanding its robotics departments.

Amazon began laying off staff in 2022 to adjust its operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as AI capabilities expand, more of the company’s employees are at risk of losing their jobs. In the middle of last month, Jesse sent a memo to staff warning that Amazon would be reducing its workforce over the next few years due to “efficiencies gained through the widespread use of AI across the company.”

The site Layoffs.fyi has recorded the layoff of about 28,000 Amazon employees since 2022. This spring, the company cut about 100 employees in the Devices & Services division, which oversees the development of Kindle, Echo, Alexa, and Zoox. Last month, dozens of workers in Amazon's book divisions, Goodreads and Kindle, lost their jobs .

The company continues to invest billions of dollars in AI data centers. In June alone, Amazon announced plans to invest around $20 billion in AI infrastructure in the US state of Pennsylvania. Then the company announced investments of $13 billion in data centers in Australia.