Amazon is eliminating "several hundreds" of roles under its Alexa division as part of the company's transition to artificial intelligence, as per the internal memo sent to employees.
Amazon Pushes Toward AI
In the memo obtained by GeekWire, Amazon attributed the layoff to the continuous shift of the company towards AI. The transition leaves many initiatives that will be discontinued, thus affecting hundreds of roles.
"As we continue to invent, we're shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities, and what we know matters most to customers-which includes maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI," VP of Alexa and Fire TV, Daniel Rausch wrote.
Last year, the Alexa team laid off employees under its Devices & Services division due to the company-wide cut. The division suffered after reports showed that the unit was costing Amazon a $10 billion loss per year.
Moreover, the company is still under pressure to keep up with the fast growth of the generative AI. Last September, the company hinted at a generative AI-based Alexa feature called "Let's Chat." The upcoming feature will allow users to have longer conversations with Alexa while remaining in the context of the discussion.
Amazon's Layoff Effectivity to Alexa Division
The memo also detailed that affected employees within the US and Canada will notified shortly through emails. Meanwhile, workers in India will be receiving notice by next week.
"To those of you impacted by these reductions, please know we did not make this decision lightly," Rausch added. Amazon assured that affected employees will receive separation payment, health benefits, job placement support, and paid time while job hunting.
Regardless, Amazon remains optimistic about the future of Alexa as the company works to integrate more generative AI features.
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