Amazon CEO Jassy Admits: “Fewer People Will Do the Jobs That Get Automated”
by Muskan Kansay - 5 days ago - 2 min read
Andy Jassy isn’t mincing words anymore.
In a recent CNBC interview, the Amazon CEO said what many tech leaders dance around: AI will absolutely replace some human jobs. “When people talk about generative AI, and they wonder whether it’s going to take jobs away… the reality is that it will be,” Jassy said.
Direct. Measured. And quietly unsettling.
He added, “When you get automated solutions, it means fewer people do the job. That’s always been the case.” No sugarcoating. No “we’ll upskill everyone” speech. Just a calm admission that automation will cut headcount—because that’s what it’s designed to do.
Jassy pointed to internal use cases—AI summarizing meetings, helping write code, or handling support tickets—as proof. “If you think about customer service or the number of people who have to do coding, or people who have to take notes in meetings, there’s just going to be fewer of those people needed.”
It’s not hypothetical. It’s already happening. Amazon has laid off 27,000+ workers since 2022. And while Jassy says AI will create new kinds of jobs too, there was no elaboration on how many or for whom.
Some may call it honest. Others may call it a shrug.
Connecting this to the broader tech landscape, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently revealed that “AI is doing 30% to 50% of the work at Salesforce now.” He described this as part of a “digital labor revolution,” with AI handling tasks across customer service, software development, and internal operations. Benioff’s comments highlight how deeply AI is embedded in business workflows, driving significant productivity gains but also leading to workforce shifts, including job cuts and role changes.
Together, these insights from Jassy and Benioff underscore a shared reality: AI is transforming work at scale. It’s not just about replacing jobs but rethinking how work gets done—and who does it. The future workforce will look different, and adapting to this change is becoming essential for companies and employees alike.