Tejal Rives thought adopting AI at work would keep her safe from layoffs. But when she lost her job at Amazon in October 2025, she realized that learning AI skills wouldn’t protect her.
Rives was one of 14,000 people laid off during the company’s restructuring. She had initially hoped to up-skill by focusing on prompt engineering, but even with this skill, she wasn’t immune to being let go.
Before her layoff, Rives worked on an internal AI project at Amazon and thought it would showcase her skills and make her more valuable to the company. However, when she was laid off, she realized that learning AI wouldn’t save her job.
Instead of replacing her, AI helped Rives identify a crucial skill – prompt engineering. This practice involves asking AI the right questions to get efficient results. She believes this skill is essential for professionals to up-skill in the age of AI.
Rives has since focused on her business, Do My Resume LLC, which provides career coaching and résumé-writing services. She uses AI only occasionally, mostly to help with ideas or specific tasks.
While Rives’ experience was difficult, she emphasizes the importance of preparing for layoffs in the era of AI. Reskilling won’t guarantee job security, but it can increase chances of finding new roles faster.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/laid-off-amazon-use-ai-protect-job-vibe-coding-lesson-2026-3