Amazon announces job cuts in AI unit months after 16,000 layoffs

Amazon has cut jobs within its artificial general intelligence (AGI) division, marking the latest round of workforce reductions at the company as it sharpens its focus on priority artificial intelligence initiatives.

The cuts, disclosed on Wednesday, affect parts of Amazon’s AGI organisation, although the full scale of the layoffs was not immediately clear, according to Reuters.

The development follows a broader restructuring effort at Amazon, which eliminated 16,000 roles across the company in January.

What Amazon is saying

According to Reuters, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed the cuts, saying the company remains committed to developing advanced AI systems but is adjusting its priorities.

• “We’ve been building large AI models for several years, and it remains one of the most important things we’re working on,” the spokesperson said.
• “We’re sharpening our focus on the initiatives that matter most for customers, so we can move faster on what counts. That focus means some difficult decisions, including eliminating some roles within parts of our AGI organisation,” they added.

Artificial general intelligence refers to a theoretical class of AI systems capable of performing a broad range of tasks at or beyond human-level intelligence, with the ability to learn, adapt, and operate autonomously.

More insights

The job cuts come amid leadership changes within Amazon’s AGI group.

• Rohit Prasad, one of the company’s top AI executives overseeing AGI, departed Amazon at the end of last year, while David Luan, head of its AGI Lab, left the company in February, according to Reuters.
• In December, Amazon consolidated its AGI operations under Senior Vice President Peter DeSantis as part of a broader technology group that also includes semiconductor development and quantum computing initiatives.

Employees working under Adeeb Shanaa, vice president of AGI data services, and Vishal Sharma, vice president of AGI information, said they were affected by the latest reductions in posts shared on online forums.

However, Amazon has not disclosed the number of employees affected by the AGI-specific cuts.

What you should know

The job cuts at Amazon come amid a wider wave of AI-led restructuring across the global technology sector.

• In June, Nairametrics reported that Global technology company Oracle cut approximately 21,000 jobs worldwide over the past year as it restructures its operations around artificial intelligence.
• The company disclosed the workforce reduction in its annual report, which showed that Oracle’s full-time employee count declined from about 162,000 to 141,000.
• Before that, in May, Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms Inc., also announced it had begun notifying employees globally about job cuts affecting approximately 8,000 roles as part of a wider restructuring aimed at reducing costs and accelerating its investments in artificial intelligence.

The workforce reduction is part of Meta’s broader strategy to streamline its operations while redirecting resources towards artificial intelligence infrastructure, research, and product development.