21:26 / 22.06.2025

Amazon and Microsoft Are Laying Off Workers Due to Artificial Intelligence

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that the company will reduce its workforce in the coming years. Meanwhile, Microsoft is reportedly planning to lay off thousands of employees. This comes as both companies pour billions of dollars into artificial intelligence (AI) development.

Microsoft has not officially confirmed the layoffs, but Bloomberg reports that the cuts—expected to be announced in early July—will primarily affect the sales departments.

In response to Yahoo Finance, a Microsoft spokesperson said: “As always, teams are reevaluating business priorities and aligning to strategic growth opportunities.”

“With more generative AI and agents being rolled out, the way work is done will change. Fewer people will be needed for some tasks currently done by humans, while more people will be needed for other roles,” Jassy wrote in a memo to employees.

“It’s hard to predict the full impact, but over the next few years, we expect to gain efficiency through broad AI adoption, which will reduce our corporate workforce,” he added.

According to Jassy, Amazon is widely implementing generative AI in its internal operations, such as inventory management and demand forecasting in its delivery network.

He also said that thanks to AI, “we’ll spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time thinking strategically about improving and inventing customer experiences.” The remarks sparked backlash from employees.

According to Bloomberg, some corporate Amazon employees have been ordered to relocate closer to their managers and teams, including to hubs like Seattle and Washington, D.C.

At the same time, Amazon and Microsoft are continuing their massive investments in AI. Amazon has been outspending other major tech companies in AI infrastructure in recent years, and that trend is expected to continue in 2025.

Amazon plans to spend about $105 billion in 2025, mostly on AWS infrastructure. Microsoft is projected to invest $80 billion in AI data centers.

Both companies have already conducted significant layoffs in recent years. In May, Microsoft laid off 3% of its workforce despite a strong earnings report. Amazon cut over 27,000 jobs between 2022 and 2023. In May, another 100 employees were laid off as part of Jassy’s efforts to reduce middle management and run Amazon like “the world’s biggest startup.”