Amazon is reducing its workforce in the division responsible for its well-received voice assistant, Alexa, as it channels greater investments into artificial intelligence.

On Friday, Daniel Rausch, Vice President of Alexa and Fire TV at Amazon, informed employees that the company is getting rid of specific positions due to the discontinuation of certain projects.

Rausch stated that in our pursuit of innovation, we are redirecting our focus to better align with our business goals and the needs of our customers. This involves optimizing our resources and efforts towards generative AI.

He stated that “several hundred” positions would be eliminated, but did not specify an exact number.

Seattle-based Amazon is in fierce competition with other tech companies rushing to capitalize on the generative AI craze. The company has been implementing a host of AI initiatives in the past few months, from infusing the technology into customer reviews to providing services that allow developers to build their own AI tools on its AWS cloud infrastructure.

In September, Amazon introduced a new version of Alexa that incorporates enhanced generative AI capabilities.

On Friday, it was announced that the workforce reduction will affect employees in the United States, Canada, and India.

Amazon has recently announced additional job cuts in their gaming and music divisions, adding to the 27,000 employees who were laid off last year and earlier this year. The layoffs also affected the company’s Alexa unit.

Source: wral.com