For years, the story of AI replacing humans has been limited to forecast reports. But now the curtain has fallen. In an internal memo sent to 1.5 million global employees, the head of the world's largest e-commerce empire Amazon painted a bleak future for many current job positions.
“We’re going to need fewer people for some of the jobs we do today, and more people for new types of jobs,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said, noting that “productivity gains” made possible by AI will lead to a shrinking workforce in the coming years.
While Amazon has said it has no immediate plans for large-scale layoffs like it did in 2022-2023, and will instead adopt a no-recruitment policy for vacant positions, the message is clear: The purge has begun.
Silicon Valley's Final Shot: "No New Hires Because AI Is Enough"
Amazon is not alone. Andy Jassy’s announcement is just the starting gun for a trend that is quietly sweeping Silicon Valley and the world. Other tech giants are already moving ahead in “optimizing” their workforces with AI.
The CEO of e-commerce platform Shopify has made it clear that any department that wants to hire more people must prove that AI can't do the job better.
Popular language learning app Duolingo is planning to gradually replace contractors and collaborators with technology.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff revealed that the company may not hire any more engineers in 2025, simply because the productivity brought by AI is too high.
The reality is even more brutal. According to Business Insider, positions that involve repetitive tasks, jobs that AI can handle easily, are disappearing from job boards at a dizzying rate.
Marlo Lyons, a senior executive coach, bluntly warns: “Is your job in danger? The answer is: Yes. If you don’t adapt to AI, you will be replaced sooner or later.”
Although it confirmed that there would not be a large wave of layoffs like in 2022-2023, Amazon revealed that vacant positions would not be rehired, and staff cuts in some departments were still a possibility (Photo: Getty).
The "white collar" bloc - the focus of the purge
The industry you work in can determine your ability to "survive" in the new era. And this time, the epicenter of the upheaval is aimed squarely at the knowledge workforce, who were once considered the most secure.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, one of the leading AI companies, predicts that AI could eliminate up to half of low-level office jobs. Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has gone further, warning that the impact of AI on the “white collar” group is so profound that it could even trigger an economic recession.
Christian Schneider, CEO of New York-based startup fileAI, said he has seen the wave of change firsthand. “Just looking at the layoffs in the tech industry, you can see that there is a restructuring going on. I absolutely believe that the wave of cuts will tighten even more in the coming period,” he said.
Adapt or Die: Redefine Work or Be Eliminated?
Not all predictions are bleak, however. According to CEO Andy Jassy, AI will not only take away jobs, but also open up entirely new career opportunities. “We will need fewer people for some of the jobs we do today, but we will need more people for other roles,” he said.
Christian Schneider, CEO of start-up fileAI, agrees that office work will not disappear entirely, but will change in nature. Repetitive tasks will be delegated to AI, while humans will take on tasks that require more critical thinking, quality assessment, or human interaction.
“I never underestimate the human ability to adapt. We are at our best when we are forced to change,” Schneider emphasized.
The AI ball is no longer in the lab. It has rolled into office buildings, into personal computers, and is slowly taking over the workplace. In this new era, stability is no longer a given.
"Sticking to the old mindset is the fastest way to be left behind. Those who refuse to change will be replaced, not by others, but by the software you once considered a support tool," said a human resources expert.
Amazon’s message is clear: The AI wave is inevitable, and the company has no intention of swimming against it. The only thing you can do now is learn to ride the wave skillfully, or be prepared to be swept away.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/su-that-phu-phang-tu-amazon-ai-se-thay-the-khong-thuong-tiec-20250619002918916.htm
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