2023-11-17 20:17:00
Amazon is once more reducing its workforce, this time focusing on the Alexa division, responsible for the voice assistant. According to an internal memo obtained by GeekWire, hundreds of Alexa team professionals will be laid off in the United States and Canada.
The memo, signed by Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Fire TV at Amazon, clarifies that the division is “realigning some of our efforts to better fit our business priorities” and also to “optimize our resources and efforts focused on artificial intelligence”.
These changes will result in the discontinuation of some initiatives. The statement did not offer specific numbers on how many employees will be affected or which specific projects will be terminated.
The movement with a labor impact is the result of the company’s intention to align itself with the demands of artificial intelligence, which is growing in the market. Rumors indicate that Amazon is developing its own generative AI chatbot, known internally as Olympuswith the possibility of being announced during the AWS Reinvent conference on November 27th.
Amazon has been implementing significant staff cuts over the past year. In January, it announced the layoff of 18,000 employees, followed by another 9,000 in May. Even following these large-scale reductions, the company continues to eliminate jobs at less publicized but still impactful events.
Last week, the company confirmed the layoff of 180 team members from the Amazon Games division, in addition to an unspecified number of employees from the Amazon Music unit.
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