Jeff Bezos predicts AI will create a labor shortage, not replace human workers across the economy

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) won't lead to the replacement of humans in the workforce and will instead create labor shortages.

Bezos spoke at the VivaTech technology conference in Paris on Wednesday and offered an optimistic outlook on the impact of AI on the workforce amid concerns about its impact on the role of human workers across the economy.

"I know there's a lot of concern that many people have, including many smart people, that AI is going to make humans redundant and so on," Bezos said.

"I totally disagree with that point of view. And I think, in fact, AI is going to create a labor shortage," the Amazon founder added. "We have an endless set of things to invent… We are limited not by our imaginations but by what we can actually do."

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"I promise you every single person in this audience has had an idea for a new business or a new product or a new device that they wish they could manufacture, and that idea stayed in your head and went nowhere," Bezos explained. "And the reason it stayed in your head and went nowhere is because it's too hard to do, and it wasn't worth it."

"If we can accelerate the dream build loop, all of the ideas will then become possible. And then we end up being limited not by our capabilities, but by our imaginations," he added.

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Bezos' comments come as companies are reevaluating their workforces in light of the advancements in AI, with thousands of job cuts following in the wake of companies' investments in the emerging tech.

A report by global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that about 40% of the 97,006 job cuts announced by companies in May were attributed to AI.

The 38,579 cuts attributed to AI in May was the highest monthly total linked to that since Challenger began tracking it in 2023.

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"The labor market is being reshaped by technology in real time. AI is now the leading reason companies give for cutting jobs and the primary industry citing it is technology," said Andy Challenger, the firm's chief revenue officer and a labor and workplace expert.

The tech sector announced 38,242 job cuts in May – the highest for the sector since August 2024. Firms within the sector have announced 123,653 cuts in 2026 so far, which is an increase of 66% from the same period in 2025 and leads other sectors in job cuts this year by a wide margin.

"AI isn't yet the jobpocalypse some predicted. Like spreadsheets and email before it, the technology will ultimately make workers more productive, but our data shows companies are already acting on it, citing AI for more cuts than any other reason," Challenger explained. "The open question isn't whether AI changes the workforce, but how fast."

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Amazon is one of the tech firms that has cut jobs amid its investments in AI, with the company announcing 16,000 cuts in January.

Reuters contributed to this report.