Alphabet and Amazon move to reduce workforces as AI focus sharpens
YouTube owner Alphabet and Amazon are in the process of reducing their workforces as the US tech giants zero in on AI.
Amazon this week revealed plans to lay off around 14,000 corporate workers as it makes “organisational changes” relating to its uptake of AI.
In a memo sent to staff, Amazon’s senior VP of people experience and technology Beth Galetti said: “Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well. What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly.
“This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones).
“We’re convinced that we need to be organised more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.”
Galetti added that Amazon expects to continue hiring in “key strategic areas” but will still look to find “additional places we can remove layers, increase ownership and realise efficiency gains.”
In June, Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy warned staff that the company’s roll-out of “more generative AI and agents” would lead to a reduction in the corporate workforce over the next few years as it gets “efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”
YouTube, meanwhile, is offering voluntary buyouts with severance for US-based employees as it increases its focus on AI and restructures its product team into three groups, as first reported by Alex Heath on his substack Sources.
Christian Oestlien, who was VP of product management, will lead the subscription products division, overseeing YouTube Music and Premium, YouTube TV, Primetime Channels, Podcasts and Commerce.
Former chief product officer Johanna Voolich will lead the viewer products team, covering YouTube’s main app, Living Room, Search and Discovery, YouTube Kids, Learning and Trust and Safety. The third group is creator and community products, which is yet to hire someone to lead it.
In an internal memo to staff on Wednesday, CEO Neal Mohan said: “Looking to the future, the next frontier for YouTube is AI, which has the potential to transform every part of the platform. We need to set ourselves up to make the most of this opportunity.”
YouTube is not eliminating any roles but is introducing a voluntary exit programme for employees as part of its shift to AI.
The news came as parent company Google’s owner Alphabet announced more than US$100bn in revenue in the third quarter of this year and a profit of nearly US$35bn, representing year-on-year increases of 16% and 33% respectively. YouTube ad revenue in the quarter rose by 15% year-on-year to US$10.26bn.
