Amazon lays off hundreds in its Alexa division as it pushes resources into AI
The HinduAmazon is cutting hundreds of jobs in the unit that handles its popular voice assistant Alexa as it pushes more resources into artificial intelligence. In a note to employees on Friday, Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, wrote that the company is eliminating certain roles because it is ditching some initiatives. “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 maximising our resources and efforts focused on generative AI,” Rausch wrote. It follows more recent layoffs in Amazon’s gaming and music teams, and also adds to the 27,000 employees the company laid off during the later parts of last year and earlier this year.