Amazon CEO Urges Staff to Master AI as Company Plans $100 Billion Investment

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has urged employees to gain expertise on AI tools, emphasizing the importance of embracing artificial intelligence as the company integrates it into its operations. Jassy described generative AI as a "once-in-a-lifetime" technology, noting that Amazon has over 1,000 generative AI services and applications in development, with this number representing only a fraction of what the company ultimately plans to build. This push follows Amazon’s pledge to invest roughly $100 billion in AI technologies during the current fiscal year.

Jassy's message to staff was clear: as AI changes how work gets done, the firm will need "fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs." He warned that in the next few years, the company expects that this will reduce its total corporate workforce as it gains efficiency from using AI extensively across the company. Jassy advised employees to "be curious about AI, educate yourself, attend workshops and take trainings, use and experiment with AI whenever you can, participate in your team’s brainstorms to figure out how to invent for our customers more quickly and expansively, and how to get more done with scrappier teams."

Amazon has already cut staff in parts of its business it doesn’t consider essential. Earlier this year, the devices and services team lost about 100 jobs, and the books department saw a similar reduction. Overall, the company has cut around 27,000 positions since 2022 and is preparing for more. Jassy's call to action is part of a broader effort by Amazon to promote AI literacy among its employees. The company is advocating for AI education to ensure that its workforce remains relevant in the face of rapid technological advancements. By encouraging employees to view AI as a tool that can enhance their work, Amazon is positioning itself to lead the way in AI adoption and innovation.

Across the tech sector, leaders have generally chosen to highlight efficiency gains over the prospect of job losses from AI. In May, Microsoft reduced its global workforce by 3%. In April, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke told employees seeking more headcount or resources that they should explain why they “cannot get what they want done using AI.” Meanwhile, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn announced plans to replace contract workers with AI as part of the company’s new “AI-first” strategy. Amazon is pouring much of its planned $100 billion investment into AI infrastructure as it races rivals to lead the AI boom and to fuel growth at its lucrative cloud arm, Amazon Web Services. Last year, Jassy said he wanted to “eliminate bureaucracy” by creating a flatter organizational structure with fewer layers of middle management. In two major rounds of cuts in 2023, Amazon shed 27,000 roles, and this year Amazon Web Services trimmed hundreds more.