Alexa to undergo workforce reduction
Alexa will undergo a workforce reduction as Amazon considers reducing the number of employees working on this system.
The cuts will affect “several hundred” employees in Alexa, according to an email from the company. A spokesperson declined to provide more details on the exact number of affected individuals.
Amazon.com announced on Friday, November 17, that it will cut jobs in its Alexa voice assistant unit, citing “changes” in business priorities and a greater focus on generative artificial intelligence.
“We are shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities and what we know matters most to customers, including maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI,” said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, in the email.
Alexa will undergo workforce reduction, and it is not yet estimated whether there will be changes or if these were merely necessary positions for a stage.
“These changes are leading us to disrupt some initiatives,” the statement says. Amazon has been downsizing staff in various divisions over the past week, including in its music and gaming sectors, as well as in some human resources roles.
Although most affected roles were in the devices division, a few employees were working on Alexa-related products in a different unit, a spokesperson said.
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Many companies are redirecting their resources toward generative AI, capable of creating software code and extensive textual responses from brief instructions.
In September, Reuters reported that morale in the devices division had suffered due to concerns about what some considered a weak product portfolio. In particular, sources pointed out that the Alexa voice assistant, which has been around for almost a decade, had failed to keep up in the era of generative artificial intelligence.
Amazon then stated that “it is inaccurate to suggest that a few anecdotes paint a picture of reality for an organization as large and diverse as Devices and Services,” and defended its products.
One of the reasons why Alexa will undergo workforce reduction is due to the profitability of certain devices.
Amazon has said that its devices and services business is not profitable but has not provided figures.
Alexa is a voice assistant that can be used to set timers, perform search queries, and play music.
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