Amazon announced today that it is cutting several hundred jobs in its Alexa division, citing a shift in business priorities and a focus on generative artificial intelligence (AI), aligning its efforts with what it believes to be most important to its customers. The cuts are part of a broader restructuring effort at the company, which has seen it lay off more than 27,000 jobs in the past year.
In an email to employees, Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, said that the company is “shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities and what we know is most important to customers, including maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI.” He added that the changes will lead to the company “abandoning certain initiatives.”
A spokeswoman for Amazon declined to say exactly how many jobs would be cut. However, she said that the affected employees would be given severance packages and outplacement services.
The job cuts in Alexa come as Amazon is facing increasing competition in the voice assistant market from Google Assistant and Apple Siri. The company is also investing heavily in generative AI, which is a type of AI that can create new content, such as text, images, and code.
Amazon’s move to cut jobs in its Alexa division is part of a broader effort to rein in costs and streamline operations, with CEO Andy Jassy at the forefront of aggressive expense-cutting measures. This decision mirrors a wider trend in the technology sector, where companies like Meta, Twitter, and Lyft have announced significant job cuts over the past year.
These industry-wide layoffs are influenced by various factors, including a slowing economy, rising interest rates, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In the midst of a weakened economy and slowing growth in the retail business, Amazon’s decision reflects the challenges tech companies face in balancing growth with cost management.
Amazon’s job cuts in Alexa are likely to have a significant impact on the company’s voice assistant business. However, the company is still committed to Alexa and believes that it has a long-term future.
