"Work Processes to Change with AI"
Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce company, announced on June 17 (local time) that the company's workforce will decrease in the coming years due to the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).
According to U.S. business media outlet CNBC and others, CEO Jassy stated in an email to employees on the same day, "Generative AI and AI-based software agents will change the way we do our work," making this prediction.
He said, "Some of the jobs we currently perform will require fewer people, while others will require more," and added, "Although we cannot know exactly what these changes will bring over time, we expect that, as we broadly deploy AI across the company to improve efficiency in the coming years, our total workforce will decrease."
Currently, Amazon is utilizing generative AI for inventory placement, demand forecasting, improving robot efficiency, customer service, and product detail pages. CEO Jassy encouraged employees to "experiment with AI tools whenever possible."
Since 2022, Amazon has laid off 27,000 employees. This year alone, the company cut about 200 jobs in its North American retail division, and in May, it cut 100 jobs in its devices and services division.
Amazon is making large-scale investments in AI, launching a wide range of AI products, and rapidly expanding data centers to meet technological demand. In a recent letter to shareholders, CEO Jassy described generative AI as "reinventing everything we know in a once-in-a-lifetime way," saying it is significantly reducing corporate costs and will redefine standards in areas such as coding, search, financial services, and shopping.
With the recent surge of interest in AI, concerns are growing that AI will replace human jobs, and CEO Jassy's remarks on this day have heightened such worries.
In April, Tobi Lutke, CEO of Canadian e-commerce company Shopify, said employees must prove why they cannot accomplish their goals with AI before requesting more staff or resources. Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Swedish fintech company Klarna, said the company reduced its workforce by 40% due to investments in AI and natural attrition.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, warned that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level office jobs and that the unemployment rate could surge to 20% within the next five years.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
