● Amazon Axes Developers, AI Takes Over
This post isn’t just simple restructuring news.
It contains a shocking signal of change that you must read if you are a developer or a professional living in the AI era.
I will uncover the real intention hidden behind why Amazon, the world’s number one company, laid off ‘developers’ and chose AI.
After reading this post, you will clearly see what capabilities we need to develop to survive in the future.
Let’s get started right away.
Amazon European HQ’s Shocking Decision: AI Has Begun to Replace Developers
1. News Fact Check: Largest Ever Layoffs at Luxembourg HQ
Amazon, the global e-commerce giant, has carried out large-scale personnel reductions at its European headquarters in Luxembourg.
Specifically, about 370 people, corresponding to approximately 8.5% of the total workforce in Luxembourg, received layoff notices.
This is an extension of the global layoff plan of 14,000 people announced last October.
Originally, Amazon intended to cut 470 people, but after negotiations with unions according to European Union (EU) labor laws, it was reduced to 370.
However, considering the population size of Luxembourg (about 680,000), hundreds of highly skilled personnel pouring out at once is a massive shock to the local labor market.
In particular, foreign workers are placed in a desperate situation where they must leave the country if they cannot find a new job within 3 months.
2. [Core Point Analysis] Why Were ‘Software Developers’ Targeted?
Here is a point that other news sources don’t cover well, but is the most important.
The fact is that the main target of these layoffs is software developers.
Usually, when we talk about restructuring, we think management or support departments are the first priority, right?
But this time, the coding workforce, the core of technical jobs, became the target.
The reason is clear. Amazon is actively introducing Generative AI technology into coding tasks.
According to Bloomberg, the need for human developers has decreased as AI has begun performing coding tasks.
This is tantamount to a signal completely shattering the existing conventional wisdom that “if you just know how to code, you can make a living for a lifetime.”
It means management has judged that AI can now do simple coding work faster and cheaper.
3. CEO Andy Jassy’s Big Picture: A ‘Leaner’ Organization and AI All-In Strategy
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wants to make the company a “leaner and less bureaucratic organization” right now.
While reducing the workforce that was explosively increased during the pandemic (laying off 27,000 people in 2022-2023 alone), he is trimming the fat.
But it’s not just about cutting costs.
Even during these layoffs, Amazon has posted 56 new job openings on the Luxembourg recruitment site.
What does this mean?
It is a ‘selection and concentration’ strategy to reduce simple workforce but continue to hire a small number of key talents to lead the AI strategy.
While Amazon emphasizes that Luxembourg is still a strategic partner in Europe, internally, it is proceeding with an AI-centered constitutional improvement at a brutally fast pace.
4. Expert’s Perspective: Future Trends We Must Read
Looking at this situation, we must face reality cool-headedly.
First, job displacement by AI is not a distant future but an ongoing reality. It has been proven that even developer job groups, which were classified as high-paying professions, are not safe zones.
Second, companies are now choosing ‘system (AI)’ efficiency over ‘people’. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also recently warned that AI would eliminate jobs.
Third, the way global tech companies manage their workforce is changing. Instead of hiring people on a large scale and educating them like in the past, they are moving towards a form of keeping only those who are immediate assets capable of handling AI.
Ultimately, we are not competing with AI, but we must possess the ability to use AI as a tool to maximize productivity to survive.
< Summary >
- Event: Amazon laid off 370 employees (8.5%) at its European headquarters (Luxembourg).
- Cause: The main cause is not simple cost-cutting, but a decrease in demand for software developers due to the introduction of AI coding.
- Background: Part of CEO Andy Jassy’s strategy for ‘organizational slimming’ and ‘focused investment in generative AI’.
- Implication: Developers are not safe either. Development of higher-level capabilities that AI cannot replace is urgent.
[Related Posts…]
- The Shocking Truth and Future Outlook of Amazon’s AI Restructuring
- Developers Disappearing? The Future of Jobs Changed by Generative AI
*Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/amazon-announces-biggest-ever-layoffs-at-its-european-headquarters-these-employees-affected-the-most/articleshow/126030039.cms
