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The Deuce
[ The Deuce ]

Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI.

Posted by gullit <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=gullit' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 27, 2025, 21:40:31

Amazon will slash 30,000 corporate jobs starting Tuesday, according to a report — unleashing one of the US’s biggest job bloodbaths this century as the company aggressively revamps its business with artificial intelligence.

Sources told Reuters the reductions — which amount to 9% of Amazon’s global office-based workforce of 350,000 — will begin Tuesday and could unfold over several weeks.

Ah so they're just getting rid of the DEI hires. I am very smart.

Posted by ECEIllinois <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ECEIllinois' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 14:29:17, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

Non obvious take: this is not AI job loss. This is the unwinding of the DEI-fueled Hiring Bonanza of the past decade.

Many jobs in that period were created under fragile pretenses / immutable traits. Ie, things other than talent.

But eventually the chickens come home to roost.… https://t.co/ByMJClU9B6
— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) October 28, 2025

Are we just taking his word for it? Don’t see anything suggesting that in the linked article*

Posted by OB25 <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=OB25' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 16:07:39, in reply to "Ah so they're just getting rid of the DEI hires. I am very smart."

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Non obvious take: this is not AI job loss. This is the unwinding of the DEI-fueled Hiring Bonanza of the past decade.

Many jobs in that period were created under fragile pretenses / immutable traits. Ie, things other than talent.

But eventually the chickens come home to roost.… https://t.co/ByMJClU9B6 — Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) October 28, 2025 .

When something is happening, young people like to say it’s “lit.”

Chamath is a known liar and ECE is being facetious*

Posted by ATL <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ATL' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 16:09:02, in reply to "Are we just taking his word for it? Don’t see anything suggesting that in the linked article*"

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“We are old and tired and just want to be taken care of.” - Republican voter, Dec. 2024.

*eyeroll*

Posted by illinibone <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=illinibone' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 15:59:20, in reply to "Ah so they're just getting rid of the DEI hires. I am very smart."

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Script Kiddie

Lazy eyed serial adulterous weirdo sues Tylenol for covering up autism cause.

Posted by doubledown <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=doubledown' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 12:22:25, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/texas-ag-sues-makers-tylenol-hiding-alleged-links

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It's not AI. They're just afraid to say that it's due to the recession we're now in

Posted by doubledown <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=doubledown' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 11:36:39, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

because the President is a dipshit. And they're afraid to say it because the man is an angry vindictive petulant child.

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Not a math surgeon, but 30k of 350k doesn’t seem like 30% IMO*

Posted by bbonb <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=bbonb' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 10:02:50, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

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I think the 30% might be corporate*

Posted by Sounder <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Sounder' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 10:04:57, in reply to "Not a math surgeon, but 30k of 350k doesn’t seem like 30% IMO*"

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Not even?*

Posted by illinibone <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=illinibone' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 16:02:08, in reply to "I think the 30% might be corporate*"

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Script Kiddie

this article clears things up

Posted by bbonb <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=bbonb' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 10:11:04, in reply to "I think the 30% might be corporate*"

https://apnews.com/article/amazon-layoff-ai-14000-artificial-intelligence-cb64af47ebb794541fbdfa8fd264932c

Well, it is, so...*

Posted by Stu <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Stu' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 10:04:30, in reply to "Not a math surgeon, but 30k of 350k doesn’t seem like 30% IMO*"

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The big bird in the coal mine

Posted by Sounder <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Sounder' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:50:39, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

I’m curious how hard this hits Seattle and it if trickles down.

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the good news is that almost all of our local growth is data center driven

Posted by ijustkrushalot <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ijustkrushalot' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:48:55, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

we have water so we're getting 11-figure investment locally and a decommissioned nuclear power plant restarted. thousands of jobs locally and a Williston ND-esque boomtown of construction on the south side of town.

not much else going on, pretty noticeable slowdown in other types of projects.

thousands of jobs are construction, no? they go away, obv. these data centers aren't a boon for

Posted by cpsteine <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=cpsteine' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 11:26:56, in reply to "the good news is that almost all of our local growth is data center driven"

anyone except those who own them

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I thought data centers don’t produce a bunch of long term jobs

Posted by snipes824 <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=snipes824' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:52:22, in reply to "the good news is that almost all of our local growth is data center driven"

or are you talking about the construction?

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Not sure I buy “because of AI” entirely here

Posted by biclops <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=biclops' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:27:19, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

1. They overhired during the pandemic
2. They tried soft layoffs with an RTO mandate and didn’t get the numbers they wanted
3. They need to offset expenditures related to spending billions on AI projects

https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/amazon-targets-many-30000-corporate-job-cuts-sources-say-2025-10-27/

The way you are, it's not your fault, you knew that
The way we were, so young and caught up in it

I support this take. *

Posted by illinibone <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=illinibone' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 16:01:45, in reply to "Not sure I buy “because of AI” entirely here"

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Script Kiddie

AI is devouring entry-level jobs. Feel bad for the utes.*

Posted by Warrin'_Illini $<iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Warrin\'_Illini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'>$ on October 28, 2025, 8:47:32, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

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If you read this, you are gay. LMAO

Corp executives are acting as this will be true. I don't think they are correct. at least in the

Posted by John Coctostan <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=John+Coctostan' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:01:17, in reply to "AI is devouring entry-level jobs. Feel bad for the utes.*"

near term

this seems like such a classic obvious bubble. And i think the people in the industry know that too. but they also know that when bubbles pops someone is there to pick up the pieces and become the winner. They all think they are amazon and not pets.com

for workers though, i think this means a wild overreaction right now. And will be followed by a correction. these LLM based models just cannot do everything they're being sold to do. they have a limit. And people are going to start hitting that hard and soon

there might be a bubble in AI-related asset prices. PLTR, for one, obv. But ignore it at your peril

Posted by cpsteine <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=cpsteine' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 11:38:38, in reply to "Corp executives are acting as this will be true. I don't think they are correct. at least in the "

Some assets might crash. But who cares? I talk to engineers weekly who deny the effect this is going to have. They're just wrong. Huge opportunities here for those who go after it.

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I'm not ignoring it. there are lots of good and interesting things

Posted by John Coctostan <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=John+Coctostan' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 12:03:53, in reply to "there might be a bubble in AI-related asset prices. PLTR, for one, obv. But ignore it at your peril"

but the spend is entirely unsustainable. the revenue isn't there. the valuations are completely devoid of fundamentals. there will be a wobble and tons of people will get wiped out

but like i said, like most bubbles, it can be a creative destruction in the long term.

I am far from an AI defender. But my experience AI can be a really great assist.

Posted by tvillini <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=tvillini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:23:09, in reply to "Corp executives are acting as this will be true. I don't think they are correct. at least in the "

There are things it's just faster at than people. I think the best analog is that you can throw it a bunch of data, and ask it to look for something. Like... "bouncing an idea off someone" sorta assistant. One of our best devs was chasing down a problem with video processing on a specific processor we're using. We had some hunches on what it might be, so he was able to generate a bunch of data, throw it at AI, and have it come up with real actionable things. Huge time saver in that respect. I also find that it's really good at reading logs. Because AI doesn't get bored or crosseyed looking at tens of thousands of lines of logs, it can distil it down really quickly to places we might focus on. It still needs me to take that distilled data and really identify the issue, but it also culls the data down so I can focus.

sure good great. but that's not replacing the entire entry level workforce

Posted by John Coctostan <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=John+Coctostan' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:52:07, in reply to "I am far from an AI defender. But my experience AI can be a really great assist."

and while there are spurts of these things that save time, there is nothing showing up in the productivity data that shows it's having massive impacts. More like saving a couple hours here or there

there's also no real info on how much time it takes to get this time saving info. my sense - based on my own use and talking to others - is that for every great, time saving breakthrough, you waste at least that amount of time coming up with nothing

if it replaces 15% of the entry-level workforce, which is totally possible, it is a giant problem

Posted by cpsteine <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=cpsteine' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 11:41:04, in reply to "sure good great. but that's not replacing the entire entry level workforce"

I can get 2x-3x done in many of my workstreams using AI, if not more.

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Yeah I use it a lot for that sort of stuff, or working through a problem to understand something

Posted by snipes824 <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=snipes824' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:48:39, in reply to "I am far from an AI defender. But my experience AI can be a really great assist."

better.

It’s a really great assistant. And to analyze large datasets like it does in a matter of seconds is pretty astounding.

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Yeah, it seems good for eliminating a lot of hay from the haystack

Posted by ghost_of_clt <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ghost_of_clt' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:26:52, in reply to "I am far from an AI defender. But my experience AI can be a really great assist."

but not necessarily finding the needle.

Which, cool, that still saved me 10 hours of rote data work.

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N U D E S I N B I O

I see it as the opposite. The check for the AI bubble is going to come due.

Posted by ATL <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ATL' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 8:57:50, in reply to "AI is devouring entry-level jobs. Feel bad for the utes.*"

And these guys are positioning themselves to be able to pay it.

“We are old and tired and just want to be taken care of.” - Republican voter, Dec. 2024.

Yeah. Sprout is going to college next year. I have no idea what makes sense as a major

Posted by DT <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=DT' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 8:51:07, in reply to "AI is devouring entry-level jobs. Feel bad for the utes.*"

I’m not sure any major is going to have good job opportunities 5 years from now.

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I'm reticent to suggest Architecture as AI is invading the industry as well, but there will

Posted by Warrin'_Illini $<iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Warrin\'_Illini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'>$ on October 28, 2025, 14:38:40, in reply to "Yeah. Sprout is going to college next year. I have no idea what makes sense as a major "

always be the need for the human touch. Also, many building departments and clients across the country are very slow to adopt new technology; still relying on paper prints, hand-drawings and markups, etc.

But we'll still need buildings and humans to design things made for humans. My firm does Data Centers and Aviation mostly, so business is crushing right now. We are hiring constantly.

It's a tough gig, think being a lawyer who makes 1/2 to 1/3 of what they do, but you get to play with models and markers occasionally. However, it's an incredibly broad and interesting industry to study, with a good variety of career path options.

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I’m not sure any major is going to have good job opportunities 5 years from now.

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If you read this, you are gay. LMAO

Mine wants to be an airline pilot. I think that's safe for a while?*

Posted by ISeeDeadHawkeyes <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ISeeDeadHawkeyes' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 10:20:32, in reply to "Yeah. Sprout is going to college next year. I have no idea what makes sense as a major "

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I’m not sure any major is going to have good job opportunities 5 years from now.

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It’s pretty much AI/ML engineer, banking/MBA path on the investment/PE side, or Republican grifter*

Posted by snipes824 <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=snipes824' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:44:38, in reply to "Yeah. Sprout is going to college next year. I have no idea what makes sense as a major "

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I’m not sure any major is going to have good job opportunities 5 years from now.

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Podcaster, influencer*

Posted by Sounder <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Sounder' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:55:16, in reply to "It’s pretty much AI/ML engineer, banking/MBA path on the investment/PE side, or Republican grifter*"

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I’m not sure any major is going to have good job opportunities 5 years from now.

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My youngest is a HS Junior. Not sure what she's going to do.

Posted by EffinIllini <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=EffinIllini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:11:27, in reply to "Yeah. Sprout is going to college next year. I have no idea what makes sense as a major "

Teacher, occupational therapist, and financial planner have all been mentioned, so she's all over the place.

Oldest will be a speech therapist, which seems to require a human touch so hopefully AI doesn't take that job, too.

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I’m not sure any major is going to have good job opportunities 5 years from now.

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And which careers will have the earning potential to justify the cost of the education?*

Posted by Jackie <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Jackie' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:05:41, in reply to "Yeah. Sprout is going to college next year. I have no idea what makes sense as a major "

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I’m not sure any major is going to have good job opportunities 5 years from now.

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I still think engineering careers make sense in the near term

Posted by John Coctostan <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=John+Coctostan' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:16:47, in reply to "And which careers will have the earning potential to justify the cost of the education?*"

i also think if you are so inclined, there is no better time to become an electrician

This. Or a fireman. Or anything that is low on the AI priority list…

Posted by haighter <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=haighter' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 10:02:39, in reply to "I still think engineering careers make sense in the near term"

…I spent the day yesterday doing things AI is never going to replace. My little distillery might close up shop some day…but it won’t be because of AI replacing me.

I’m signing my kids up for knife making classes so they can get introduced to machinery and welding.

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i also think if you are so inclined, there is no better time to become an electrician

Trying to convince DocJr#4 (Soph in college) that Cyber-Security is a safe bet.

Posted by ibdoc <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ibdoc' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:04:14, in reply to "Yeah. Sprout is going to college next year. I have no idea what makes sense as a major "

He has interest in computer programming but not sure he likes coding.

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I’m not sure any major is going to have good job opportunities 5 years from now.

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cyber is okay, but you work with douchebags and trade schools addressing more of market. plus it is

Posted by cpsteine <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=cpsteine' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 11:29:45, in reply to "Trying to convince DocJr#4 (Soph in college) that Cyber-Security is a safe bet."

super easy to turn more of it over to AI

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He has interest in computer programming but not sure he likes coding.

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I’m not sure any major is going to have good job opportunities 5 years from now.

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Trump is bringing back coal-mining, steel, and extrusion plastics to the US

Posted by OrangeSox <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=OrangeSox' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 8:56:57, in reply to "Yeah. Sprout is going to college next year. I have no idea what makes sense as a major "

to save us all.

Society is in deep trouble, IMO

Posted by DT <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=DT' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 8:47:31, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

Edit: there’s a Star Trek utopian future where that massive free productivity is used to raise the standard of living across society, but that will require a revolutionary overthrow of existing economic and power relationships, which seems unlikely to me.

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I’ve been thinking about this a lot. What are we going to do when there are not enough jobs?

Posted by Jackie <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Jackie' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:03:59, in reply to "Society is in deep trouble, IMO"

In some ways it’s great that automation can obviate the need for human labor. But in an economic system where work is required for survival, how are people not working supposed to survive? And what do people who don’t work do in order to produce and contribute, which is a human need, not just an economic one? I’m no economist, but I don’t see how capitalism answers this, premised as it is on extraction of resources for selective profit. A system is needed that is based on sharing of resources. This seems pretty obvious, but Americans are deeply propagandized against anything that smells collective.

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We are going to have a permanent unemployment rate of 15+%, and the bulk of the population doing shitty menial service jobs like nail salon technician, with white collar work basically destroyed as an employment path from AI. And that’s assuming this doesn’t push the economy into a negative feedback loop depression, with layoffs killing demand for even the terrible low paying jobs humans can still do. Edit: there’s a Star Trek utopian future where that massive free productivity is used to raise the standard of living across society, but that will require a revolutionary overthrow of existing economic and power relationships, which seems unlikely to me.

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well, you can start by throwing out everyone you can

Posted by ijustkrushalot <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ijustkrushalot' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:51:36, in reply to "I’ve been thinking about this a lot. What are we going to do when there are not enough jobs?"

the problem is the economy is not only built on their labor, but also their consumption.

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My guess is it will lead to some form of communism

Posted by Stu <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Stu' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:34:43, in reply to "I’ve been thinking about this a lot. What are we going to do when there are not enough jobs?"

Where the great unemployed masses share in the productivity created by AI.

I can see a future where robots collect our garbage, everything. I'm not convinced there won't come a day when we even have robot plumbers and electricians (no idea how that would be practical, but change is coming at us hard and fast).

All the savings will go into Jeff’s pocket

Posted by TarheelIllini <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=TarheelIllini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 8:45:33, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

The rich are the problem, we need to tax billionaires, not corporations

Recrudescence

Corporate tax rates are still too low. 21% rates and R&D credits

Posted by OrangeSox <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=OrangeSox' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 8:52:56, in reply to "All the savings will go into Jeff’s pocket"

have done nothing but incentivize businesses to invest heavily into AI with job replacement as the endgame. AI doesn't require a living wage, retirement plans, or healthcare.

There is a reason why PE firms now are structuring all entities as C-Corps.

If you tax corporations, they just raise their prices and pass it along to the consumer

Posted by TarheelIllini <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=TarheelIllini' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 9:57:58, in reply to "Corporate tax rates are still too low. 21% rates and R&D credits "

Take it out of the billionaires pockets. Jeff doesn’t need another yacht, home, plane, etc…

Recrudescence

Where is the 30% from?*

Posted by Carl Spackler <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=Carl+Spackler' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 8:31:01, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

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UPS cutting 48000 jobs*

Posted by John Coctostan <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=John+Coctostan' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 28, 2025, 8:06:11, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

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I can’t believe they have 350,000 office based workers. That’s ridiculous.*

Posted by ATL <iframe src='https://mb.boardhost.com/TheDeuce/info/user=ATL' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on October 27, 2025, 21:55:00, in reply to "Amazon laying off 30% due to increase of AI. "

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“We are old and tired and just want to be taken care of.” - Republican voter, Dec. 2024.

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