AWS CEO Calls Replacing Junior Staff with AI “Dumb,” Despite Recent Layoffs

Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman has urged companies not to fall into the trap of cutting junior-level employees in favour of artificial intelligence (AI), calling it a shortsighted and “dumb” move. His remarks come at a sensitive time, barely a month after AWS itself laid off hundreds of workers.

Speaking on the Matthew Berman Podcast, Garman strongly criticized the growing trend of corporates turning to AI as a replacement for entry-level jobs. “Laying off entry-level workers for AI was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard,” he said.

The AWS chief argued that junior staff play a vital role in shaping the future of organizations. They are typically the most adaptable, cost-effective employees and are often the first to embrace new tools and technologies—including AI. “They’re the most leaned into your AI tools,” he added, suggesting that younger employees tend to adapt faster than seasoned professionals.

Garman also warned of long-term consequences if companies abandon graduate hiring today. “How’s that going to work when you go like 10 years in the future and you have no one that has built up or learned anything?” he asked, highlighting the importance of continuous skill development and future leadership pipelines.

The executive stressed that companies must keep investing in talent at the entry level to ensure a sustainable workforce. At the same time, he encouraged students and professionals to diversify their learning paths, given the rapidly changing nature of work. “If you spend all of your time learning one specific thing and you’re like, ‘That’s the thing I’m going to be expert at for the next 30 years,’ I can promise you that’s not going to be valuable 30 years from now,” he remarked.

However, Garman’s advice comes against the backdrop of his own company’s workforce reductions. AWS confirmed in July that it had cut hundreds of roles, though the firm did not disclose which positions were affected. The company acknowledged that advances in AI meant fewer workers were needed in certain departments.

Across Amazon’s wider ecosystem, job cuts have been even more dramatic. Since 2022, more than 22,000 positions have been eliminated as the company undergoes restructuring. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has previously hinted that more layoffs could be on the horizon.

Garman’s stance also sets him apart from other major tech leaders. In June, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that AI agents are already performing tasks on par with junior employees. At the Snowflake Summit 2025, Altman noted, “You hear people that talk about their job now is to assign work to a bunch of agents, look at the quality, figure out how it fits together, give feedback, and it sounds a lot like how they work with a team of still relatively junior employees.”

The global debate over AI’s impact on employment is far from over. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that 71 percent of respondents in the United States fear AI will permanently eliminate too many jobs.

For now, Garman’s message is clear: while AI can transform the workplace, dismissing junior staff could undermine a company’s future growth and resilience.