Amazon’s CEO envisions an “agentic future” in which AI robots, or agents, replace humans working in the company’s offices. In a memo to employees made public by Amazon on Tuesday, CEO Andy Jassy said he expects the company to reduce its corporate workforce in as soon as the next few years, as it leans more heavily on generative AI tools to help fulfill workplace duties. “As we roll out more generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,” Jassy stated. “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.” Jassy added that this move toward AI would eventually “reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.” With approximately 1.5 million employees worldwide, the e-commerce giant is the second largest private employer in the United States. Reached for comment, an Amazon spokesperson deferred to the original memo. Amazon is “investing quite expansively” in generative AI technology, according to Jassy, adding that “the progress we are making is evident.” “Many of these agents have yet to be built, but make no mistake, they’re coming, and coming fast,” the CEO stated in the memo. Amazon ramped up its participation in the generative AI arms race with the release of the Amazon Echo smart speaker in 2014, its first product to include its virtual assistant Alexa.

Full report : Amazon CEO says the company plans to slash workforce as AI becomes more prominent.