AI Taking Human Jobs? Amazon To Lay Off Workers From Alexa Unit

Amazon, an American multinational technology company, has announced another round of layoffs in order to increase focus on generative artificial intelligence (AI). 

On Friday, Amazon said that the authorities would fire workers from the Alexa voice assistant unit. The company said it wanted to “shift” its focus on business priorities. Daniel Rausch, the Vice President of the Smart Home business within Amazon Devices division, said, “We’re shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities and maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI.”

Who all are at risk?

The layoff tsunami will take place in Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant unit. The layoff will affect “several hundred” employees at Amazon’s Alexa unit. However, it is still not known how many employees will be affected by the sudden layoff.

Hundreds of employees can lose their jobs in the coming weeks. Workers at Amazon’s Alexa unit need to be prepared for the layoff.

Alexa is a voice assistant created by Amazon company. It is mostly used for playing music, searching queries, setting timers, or as a home automation hub.

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Amazon layoff

In recent weeks, Amazon has been firing employees from different divisions, including its music and gaming divisions as well as some human resources roles. Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Fire TV,  said in the email that most layoffs took place in the devices division.

Recently, Amazon layoff affected workers at Amazon Music’s editorial and audio content team. The layoffs affected employees in three continents — South America, North America and Europe. 

An Amazon spokeswoman said, “We have been closely monitoring our organizational needs and prioritizing what matters most to the long-term health of our businesses.”

The layoff affected employees at AWS, PXT, Advertising, and Twitch departments. Andy Jassy, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Amazon, admitted that the company laid off around 27,000 employees, which is the biggest layoff in Amazon’s history.