At the same time, many CEOs are championing \u201cAI-first\u201d<\/a> strategies and touting productivity gains. But the workforce may not be ready, with only 62% of employees having received any AI-related training, even as companies push to scale AI across their operations, according to Gartner.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re at this moment where making big statements is about getting attention and drawing focus to the fact that\u00a0AI is being used for real business impact,\u201d Gartner vp analyst Nicole Greene told ADWEEK. \u201cRather than the tangible, long-term conversation around what does it really look like to re-skill and up-skill talent for a modern workforce.\u201d <\/p>\n Former Publicis chief strategist and growth officer Rishad Tobaccowala said the shift is also about rebalancing power. Companies may need 20% to 25% fewer people for the same output, he said, but that future will rely on a new kind of worker, one who can collaborate with AI. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople are talking about AI strategy\u2026 that\u2019s the stupidest thing in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need to figure out how your entire strategy is changed because of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what company leaders have said publicly about how they believe AI will impact their workforce, in alphabetical order. <\/p>\n Amazon<\/strong><\/p>\n Action:<\/strong> Since 2022, Amazon has laid off more than 27,000 employees across multiple divisions. While the company initially cited macroeconomic uncertainty, recent statements from leadership suggest AI is becoming a key factor in how it envisions future staffing.<\/p>\n What it said:<\/strong> In a June blog post<\/a>, CEO Andy Jassy pointed to the company\u2019s deep investment in generative AI\u2014highlighting over 1,000 services and applications in progress\u2014and signaled a shift in how work gets done. \u201cAs we roll out more generative AI and agents,\u201d he wrote, \u201cit should change the way our work is done\u2026 [and] we\u2019ll need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today.\u201d While Jassy didn\u2019t specify which roles would be affected, he noted that the company expects to see workforce reductions in the coming years as it leans into AI-driven efficiency.<\/p>\n Jassy also pointed to advertising as a clear example of AI integration, citing Amazon\u2019s suite of tools that help brands plan, onboard, create, and optimize campaigns, used by over 50,000 advertisers in Q1.<\/p>\n British Telecom<\/strong><\/p>\n Action:<\/strong> British Telecom plans to cut 55,000 jobs by 2030, roughly 40% of its 130,000-person workforce. Of those, at least 10,000 roles could be replaced by AI, according<\/a> to The Financial Times.<\/p>\n What it said:<\/strong> CEO Allison Kirkby told FT the company is exploring the full impact of AI and suggested that, \u201cdepending on what we learn from AI\u2009\u2026 there may be an opportunity for BT to be even smaller by the end of the decade.\u201d The company has already begun integrating generative AI into customer-facing roles, including sales and support operations.<\/p>\n Duolingo<\/strong><\/p>\n Action<\/strong>: Cut around 10% of its contractor workforce in 2023<\/a>, as it turns to AI models like OpenAI\u2019s GPT-4 to streamline content production and translations.<\/p>\n What it said:<\/strong> CEO <\/strong>Luis <\/strong>von Ahn has positioned<\/a> the company as \u201cAI-first,\u201d saying that achieving that vision means rethinking \u201cmuch of how we work,\u201d and \u201cmaking minor tweaks to systems designed for humans won\u2019t get us there.\u201d As part of the shift, Duolingo is placing \u201cconstructive constraints\u201d on hiring: headcount will only be approved if a team \u201ccannot automate more of their work.\u201d The company is also experimenting with AI in hiring and performance reviews.<\/p>\n Klarna<\/strong><\/p>\n Action: <\/strong>Klarna has reduced its workforce by about 40%, with CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski telling CNBC<\/a> in May that the cuts are largely due to AI. The Swedish fintech company previously said it planned to shrink its headcount from 3,800 to 2,000 employees over the next few years. The company posted<\/a> a $99 million loss in Q1, attributing it to one-off costs related to depreciation, share-based payments, and restructuring.<\/p>\n What it said:<\/strong> In marketing specifically, CMO David Sandstr\u00f6m told<\/a> ADWEEK that team size reductions were driven in part by the growing capabilities of generative AI, and that further cuts could follow as the technology evolves.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shopify\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Action<\/strong>: Shopify has trimmed its workforce in the last two years, first by 14% in 2022, followed by another 20% in 2023. The company ended 2024 with 8,100 employees, down from 8,300 the previous year, per the company\u2019s filing<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Recent](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/advertising-machines-customer-ai-2025.jpg\")
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