October 28, 2025 • 6 mins
LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i
WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:
https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured
Amazon just announced one of its biggest layoffs in years—and AI is partly to blame. In this episode:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i
WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:
https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured
Amazon just announced one of its biggest layoffs in years—and AI is partly to blame. In this episode:
- Why 14,000 corporate jobs vanished (and it’s not just AI)
- How “creative destruction” drives progress—and always has
- What Obama got wrong about ATMs and automation
- Why DEI and HR roles are first on the chopping block
- The one rule for job security in the AI era: make yourself indispensable
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it will have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Did AI lay off fourteen thousand people at Amazon, well
sort of anyway. News broke yesterday that Amazon was going
to be laying off thirty thousand corporate roles. The number
actually came in at fourteen thousand. That is still one
(00:37):
of the company's largest layoffs in years. This has a
lot to do, first and foremost with reducing all of
the pandemic hiring that took place, because that was nuts.
That was nuts during the pandemic, the type of hiring
(00:58):
that took place, and then the the salaries that were
being paid all across the the tech world. The maximum
was out of control, and we pointed it out here
on the program. I laughed. I laughed as enjoy it
welt lasts joyant while at last, because these companies completely
went nuts when it came to hiring, and they've tried,
(01:22):
they've tried reducing their head count by return to office mandates,
you know, for you know, telling people Hey, you know
what if you don't well, you know, well you can't return,
We'll give you some sort of severance and then you
can go away. It hasn't been enough. Is is AI
(01:45):
a part of this? Yeah, it is. It's not the
only factor, but most certainly it's playing a part in it.
They are going to be able to streamline a lot
of various different function they had before, and chat boxes
and a myriad of other things. These things have been
in the works for some time. Again, we're gonna have
(02:07):
to get used to it. I'm gonna have to get
used to it. And I know there's many people out
there are basically declaring this is going to be the
end of the world as we know it. No, tech
is not new tech. Tech destroys and it creates. That's
(02:28):
again you want to think about that. I've talked about
the economist Joseph Schumpeter, who talks about it because of
creative destruction, where certain jobs will be destroyed and other
ones will be created. I never forget. You know. Obama,
during some speech he was giving he was misinformed go
figure talked about how their ATM destroyed all of these
(02:54):
teller jobs at the banks, and they weren't coming back
right right. The jobs most certainly not coming back like
they had in the past, but the banks created other
jobs and actually increased hiring after the fact. It's just
a matter of adopting new types of technology and figuring
out how to use it. How it is, how it is,
(03:18):
job shift, jobs change. I've talked about this in terms
of the industry that I'm in. It's changed drastically. You know,
gone are the massive you know, trading room floors for
every single firmount there. I mean, they still exist when
they're trading for the actual firm, but managing people's money
(03:42):
and tickets and sales assist all these various different jobs
that were a part of my early part of my career.
They don't exist anymore, whether they're not necessary, But that
doesn't mean that something else is going to be created elsewhere. Again,
Amazon has corporate workforce about three hundred and fifty thousand employees,
(04:06):
total workforce of about one point five five million that
includes warehouse and delivery workers. You're going to see a
lot of automation in that area as well, a lot
so again, you know, we're going to see what's happening forward.
(04:27):
You're going to see this happening with other companies. There's
going to be an adjustment period here in the United States.
But this is what technology does. And yeah, it can
be scary to a lot of people. Again, I was
actually interviewed talking about this today. You need to be
you know, self aware and understand the terrain you need
(04:49):
to make yourself and the job that you have. You
want job security, Okays, the best way about going to
put it to you want job security in life. You
make sure if you're working for somebody, working for a company,
you got a boss, whatever it may be, you make sure, okay,
that you are increasing the bottom line of that company.
(05:12):
You're if you're you're increasing the bottom line of that company,
they're not gonna get rid of you.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
They're not.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
You're valuable. This is why I talk about the importance
of interpersonal skills, being able to talk to others, creating
value for the company you work for, being able to sell.
It's a part of it. Okay, these are these are
realities that are out there. Okay, human resources, you're probably
(05:47):
gonna go. You're probably gonna go just along with all
you know, the DEI hires. It went along with human
resources and the people that they had to add, so
they look at it. You're gun, you're on. Okay, it
was great while it lasted, but that's that is just
the nature of the beasts. Okay. Let's of course, you
(06:08):
want to get a job. Government, you get a job,
and government you can you know, you can get stay
on forever. It doesn't make a different It don't fire anybody.
But in the private sector, private sector, make yourself. Make
yourself someone that works so that you can't be replaced.
You're too good at what you do. You add too
much value to the company that you work for. Watchdog
(06:31):
on Wall Street dot Com
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it will have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Did AI lay off fourteen thousand people at Amazon, well
sort of anyway. News broke yesterday that Amazon was going
to be laying off thirty thousand corporate roles. The number
actually came in at fourteen thousand. That is still one
(00:37):
of the company's largest layoffs in years. This has a
lot to do, first and foremost with reducing all of
the pandemic hiring that took place, because that was nuts.
That was nuts during the pandemic, the type of hiring
(00:58):
that took place, and then the the salaries that were
being paid all across the the tech world. The maximum
was out of control, and we pointed it out here
on the program. I laughed. I laughed as enjoy it
welt lasts joyant while at last, because these companies completely
went nuts when it came to hiring, and they've tried,
(01:22):
they've tried reducing their head count by return to office mandates,
you know, for you know, telling people Hey, you know
what if you don't well, you know, well you can't return,
We'll give you some sort of severance and then you
can go away. It hasn't been enough. Is is AI
(01:45):
a part of this? Yeah, it is. It's not the
only factor, but most certainly it's playing a part in it.
They are going to be able to streamline a lot
of various different function they had before, and chat boxes
and a myriad of other things. These things have been
in the works for some time. Again, we're gonna have
(02:07):
to get used to it. I'm gonna have to get
used to it. And I know there's many people out
there are basically declaring this is going to be the
end of the world as we know it. No, tech
is not new tech. Tech destroys and it creates. That's
(02:28):
again you want to think about that. I've talked about
the economist Joseph Schumpeter, who talks about it because of
creative destruction, where certain jobs will be destroyed and other
ones will be created. I never forget. You know. Obama,
during some speech he was giving he was misinformed go
figure talked about how their ATM destroyed all of these
(02:54):
teller jobs at the banks, and they weren't coming back
right right. The jobs most certainly not coming back like
they had in the past, but the banks created other
jobs and actually increased hiring after the fact. It's just
a matter of adopting new types of technology and figuring
out how to use it. How it is, how it is,
(03:18):
job shift, jobs change. I've talked about this in terms
of the industry that I'm in. It's changed drastically. You know,
gone are the massive you know, trading room floors for
every single firmount there. I mean, they still exist when
they're trading for the actual firm, but managing people's money
(03:42):
and tickets and sales assist all these various different jobs
that were a part of my early part of my career.
They don't exist anymore, whether they're not necessary, But that
doesn't mean that something else is going to be created elsewhere. Again,
Amazon has corporate workforce about three hundred and fifty thousand employees,
(04:06):
total workforce of about one point five five million that
includes warehouse and delivery workers. You're going to see a
lot of automation in that area as well, a lot
so again, you know, we're going to see what's happening forward.
(04:27):
You're going to see this happening with other companies. There's
going to be an adjustment period here in the United States.
But this is what technology does. And yeah, it can
be scary to a lot of people. Again, I was
actually interviewed talking about this today. You need to be
you know, self aware and understand the terrain you need
(04:49):
to make yourself and the job that you have. You
want job security, Okays, the best way about going to
put it to you want job security in life. You
make sure if you're working for somebody, working for a company,
you got a boss, whatever it may be, you make sure, okay,
that you are increasing the bottom line of that company.
(05:12):
You're if you're you're increasing the bottom line of that company,
they're not gonna get rid of you.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
They're not.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
You're valuable. This is why I talk about the importance
of interpersonal skills, being able to talk to others, creating
value for the company you work for, being able to sell.
It's a part of it. Okay, these are these are
realities that are out there. Okay, human resources, you're probably
(05:47):
gonna go. You're probably gonna go just along with all
you know, the DEI hires. It went along with human
resources and the people that they had to add, so
they look at it. You're gun, you're on. Okay, it
was great while it lasted, but that's that is just
the nature of the beasts. Okay. Let's of course, you
(06:08):
want to get a job. Government, you get a job,
and government you can you know, you can get stay
on forever. It doesn't make a different It don't fire anybody.
But in the private sector, private sector, make yourself. Make
yourself someone that works so that you can't be replaced.
You're too good at what you do. You add too
much value to the company that you work for. Watchdog
(06:31):
on Wall Street dot Com
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