Editorial illustration for No firm admits AI replacing New York workers; Amazon cites AI for 30,000 layoffs
Amazon Cuts 16K Jobs as AI Transforms Workforce
No firm admits AI replacing New York workers; Amazon cites AI for 30,000 layoffs
Why does this matter now? New York’s labor market has become a barometer for how tech firms handle automation, yet none have openly said they’re swapping people for algorithms. That silence stands in stark contrast to what executives are telling investors behind closed doors.
While the tech is impressive, the human cost is surfacing in earnings calls and internal memos. Here’s the thing: large‑scale layoffs are being framed as inevitable outcomes of AI‑driven efficiency, even as companies publicly deny any direct replacement of staff. The tension is palpable when a Bloomberg source points to Morgan Stanley’s recent cuts, noting a “small portion” tied to automation.
And Amazon, a global retailer with a footprint that stretches across continents, has already signaled that its own 30,000‑person reduction wave will be linked to AI benefits. The pattern suggests a growing disconnect between public statements and operational realities, prompting regulators and workers alike to ask what the next wave will look like.
Amazon warned ahead of its latest waves of layoffs, which affected about 30,000 workers in total, that benefits from AI would lead to job cuts. An unnamed source told Bloomberg that a small portion of Morgan Stanley's layoffs reflected AI and automation use. The companies operate around the world, so it's possible that only employees outside of New York were pushed out in favor of AI.
Overall, nearly 55,000 US companies attributed job cuts to adoption of AI last year, according to an analysis of public statements by the job search firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Still, none of these developments showing up in the unique New York data reinforces the challenge with answering the question on everyone's mind: "Is AI going to take my job?" Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel says, "AI is not the reason behind the vast majority" of cuts and that instead the goal is "reducing layers, increasing ownership, and helping reduce bureaucracy." Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
Is AI truly driving the recent job cuts in New York? The filings themselves say otherwise. Over 160 employers, including Amazon and Goldman Sachs, have reported mass layoffs since March, yet none cited “technological innovation or automation” as a reason, even though the questionnaire added that option eleven months ago.
Amazon did warn that AI‑related benefits would lead to reductions, and its latest wave touched roughly 30,000 workers overall. A Bloomberg source added that a small slice of Morgan Stanley’s cuts reflected AI and automation use. The contrast between the companies’ public statements and the formal notices leaves a gap.
While the data confirm that AI is mentioned in some internal explanations, the extent to which it replaces human labor remains unclear. Companies continue to operate worldwide, but the New York filings provide no concrete attribution to AI‑driven displacement. Whether future reports will list automation as a primary factor is still an open question.
Further Reading
- Amazon layoffs 2026: Is Amazon's 16000 employee layoff only the start or is Amazon preparing deeper AI-driven workforce changes? - The Economic Times
- The AI Job Replacement Wave Just Hit (Your Survival Guide) - Nova Edge Digital Labs
- What Amazon's Leaked Layoff Email Reveals About CX Priorities - CX Today
Related Reading
Research & Benchmarks Hyperparameter Tuning Reaches 0.9617 Accuracy in 64.59 Seconds
Research & Benchmarks Pharma Cautious as AI Promises Faster Drug Discovery and Smarter Trials
Research & Benchmarks Google AI Advisors Let Users Probe Performance with Conversational “Why” Queries
Related Topic OpenAI seeks new scaling laws as it projects revenue jump from $13 B in 2025
Business & Startups
Related Topic India aims for USD 150 bn AI spend by 2026; Google, Microsoft, Amazon commit USD 70 bn
Business & Startups
From Archives AI Proposed to Supplant Nuclear Treaties, Raising Cheating Concerns
From Archives Study finds GPT‑4o updates trigger real mourning as users personify model
From Archives Alexa+ launches for all users, now accessible via Alexa.com browser
AI Tools & Apps
From Archives Google to Pay USD 68 Million to Settle Lawsuit Over Assistant’s Unlawful Recording
Policy & Regulation
Common Questions Answered
How many employees did Amazon lay off, and what role did AI play in these job cuts?
[cnn.com](https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/28/tech/amazon-layoffs-ai) reports that Amazon laid off 16,000 employees in this round, which follows a previous cut of 14,000 corporate employees in October. The company cited a need to reduce bureaucracy and increase decision-making speed, with CEO Andy Jassy wanting the company to remain nimble as AI transforms the technology sector.
What is the current scale of AI's impact on employment according to J.P. Morgan Asset Management?
[am.jpmorgan.com](https://am.jpmorgan.com/us/en/asset-management/adv/insights/market-insights/market-updates/on-the-minds-of-investors/is-ai-really-driving-an-increase-in-layoffs/) suggests that AI is not yet having a material impact on aggregate employment. Generative AI is estimated to account for just 2-8% of total U.S. work hours, primarily used for discrete tasks like drafting emails or code rather than complete workflow automation.
What trends are emerging in job market disruption related to AI?
[fortune.com](https://fortune.com/2025/12/02/are-layoffs-related-to-ai-job-opening-goldman-sachs/) indicates that while AI's role in layoffs remains modest, companies discussing AI in workforce contexts have cut job openings more sharply. The share of layoffs attributed to AI increased to just above 15% in the most recent quarter, with management teams increasingly viewing AI as a core component of their future human capital strategy.