Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy has given staff a heads-up: robots (okay, AI) are coming for the boring stuff. And if you want to stay relevant, you’d better start “getting curious” about artificial intelligence—fast.
In a memo to employees on Tuesday, Jassy painted a future where Amazon’s corporate halls may look a little less crowded, thanks to AI-powered “efficiency gains.” Translation? Fewer humans needed to handle today’s office jobs, and more roles emerging to build and manage tomorrow’s tech.
“We’ll need fewer people doing some of the jobs being done today, and more people doing new kinds of jobs,” Jassy wrote, in what might be the nicest way possible to say, some of you will be replaced by code.
The memo is the latest example of a tech giant diving headfirst into the AI pool—and creating waves of concern about job losses, especially for those just entering the workforce. Across the industry, AI is moving from cool science project to a very real business tool that can already write code, generate text and images, and perform mundane tasks—all without a lunch break.
Jassy isn’t shy about where this is going: “In the next few years, we expect this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.” That’s corporate-speak for “AI is about to make some roles obsolete.”
Amazon currently employs over 1.5 million people globally, making it the second-largest employer in the US after Walmart. While the bulk of those folks are running warehouses, roughly 350,000 are office staff—aka the people most likely to feel the effects of AI.
Amazon’s move is part of a bigger tech trend. Companies have been pouring billions into AI as new tools like ChatGPT and image generators show off just how fast machines are learning. But not everyone is cheering. Dario Amodei, CEO of AI powerhouse Anthropic, told Axios last month that AI could wipe out half of entry-level white-collar jobs. Yikes.
Even Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer in AI research and sometimes called the “Godfather of AI,” has warned that this time is different. On a recent podcast, Hinton noted that if AI can handle all the routine intellectual work, it’s unclear what new jobs would replace them: “You’d have to be very skilled to have a job that it couldn’t just do.”
Back at Amazon, Jassy made clear that AI is already woven into “virtually every corner of the company.” AI tools are helping sellers write product descriptions and advertisers craft campaigns. Half a million sellers on Amazon are already using AI to boost their businesses.
And in the not-too-distant future? AI-powered shopping assistants and digital agents could be taking care of your daily chores (though sadly, probably not your dishes—yet). “Many of these agents have yet to be built, but make no mistake, they’re coming and coming fast,” Jassy warned.
His advice for employees: embrace the change and “be curious.” Because in the age of AI, curiosity won’t just kill the cat—it’ll help save your career.
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