Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently acknowledged that his company will reduce its workforce in the near future due to “efficiency gains” from artificial intelligence (AI). This statement has sparked a debate about the impact of AI on corporate America’s large workforces.
Many CEOs, including those at JPMorgan and Ford, have also expressed concerns about the role of AI in reducing employee numbers. The head of JPMorgan’s consumer and community business predicted that AI will reduce its operations division by 10%, while the CEO of Klarna said it has already reduced headcount by 40%.
The trend is not limited to tech companies. Ford’s CEO declared that AI will wipe out “literally half” of all white-collar jobs. Even software startup Workera’s CEO, Kian Katanforoosh, wants to keep his team small, stating that he believes it can go far without growing.
This shift away from large workforces is a result of AI’s ability to automate many tasks and reduce the need for human workers. This change in perspective is not new, as management philosophies have started to normalize layoffs in the 1970s. However, with the rise of automation, companies are now focusing on leveraging AI to streamline their operations.
A recent analysis by workforce analytics provider Live Data found that if Microsoft were to offload all automatable tasks to AI, it would eliminate 36% of work currently done by employees, resulting in around 80,000 job losses. This raises concerns about the long-term impact of AI on employment.
While some see this trend as an opportunity for leaner and more efficient companies, others worry that it will lead to a bleak future without creating new jobs and opportunities. Economist Carl Benedikt Frey notes that most productivity gains come from doing new and previously inconceivable things, rather than simply automating existing work.
The debate surrounding AI’s impact on corporate America is ongoing. As the technology continues to evolve, it is essential for leaders to consider its potential consequences and prioritize innovation over mere cost-cutting.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/americas-biggest-employers-facing-great-shrinking-corporations-ai-2025-8