Companies are racing to adopt AI in the hope of driving down costs and speeding up processes. Yet some are going further, replacing entry-level staff with the astronomically hyped software.
Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, has dismissed the idea outright. In a recent video interview with AI investor Matthew Berman, he called it “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
If you don’t hire entry-level employees, then you don’t have people to grow in your company over time. How do you get your next generation of managers, directors, and executives if you didn’t ever hire the entry-level folks?”
“How’s that going to work when ten years in the future you have no one that has learned anything?” Garman added. “My view is you absolutely want to keep hiring kids out of college and teaching them the right ways to go build software and decompose problems and think about it, just as much as you ever have.”
A Timely Warning?
In a sign that Garman’s warning is pertinent, major organisations are already cutting or restructuring early-career roles in the name of AI-driven efficiency. Microsoft, for instance, recently removed over 6,000 positions, spanning senior engineers to AI directors, as it pivots to an “AI-first” strategy.
Similarly, McKinsey’s internal AI tool Lilli now handles tasks traditionally done by junior analysts, such as PowerPoint preparation, though the firm insists this frees analysts for higher-value client work. On the financial services front, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia reversed a controversial AI-led cut of call-centre jobs after the AI replacement backfired operationally.
The Business Cost of Hollowing Out the Workforce
Garman’s warning underlines the crux of the issue for business leaders weighing AI-driven efficiencies against long-term resilience. Eliminating junior roles may save money in the short term, but it risks undermining the workforce pipeline that sustains innovation and leadership succession.
The implications are enormous for tech buyers. Junior staff are often the first adopters of new workplace tools, whether piloting collaboration platforms, stress-testing customer experience software, or experimenting with AI copilots. They provide the feedback and cultural momentum that can make or break digital transformation projects.
Without these roles, organisations risk creating brittle ecosystems: efficient on paper but lacking the human capital required to adapt.
A Quantitative Edge: AI, Skills & Workforce Trends
AI is altering the hiring landscape, for better or worse. A recent MIT “State of AI in Business 2025” report estimates that AI currently affects about three percent of jobs, but could impact up to 27 percent long-term, primarily in outsourced or entry-level functions. Half of corporate AI budgets now go into sales and marketing, amplifying automation in customer-facing roles.
Research published by the World Economic Forum warns that Gen AI and hybrid work models are disrupting traditional mentorship and on-the-job learning for junior staff. Institutions like JPMorgan are countering this by mandating in-office days and structuring guided learning to preserve skill development.
AI as a Force Multiplier, Not a Substitute
Garman argued that the more sustainable approach is to view AI as augmentation. Junior employees are uniquely positioned to train, curate, and refine AI systems, whether tuning algorithms for customer-service chatbots or managing collaboration data streams that inform productivity analytics.
In this way, entry-level workers shift away from repetitive tasks towards higher-value responsibilities, building the skills that prepare them for leadership. Businesses benefit from both short-term efficiency and long-term resilience.
Ponder This…
The temptation to swap people for algorithms is strong, especially under pressure to cut costs. However, as Garman’s warning illustrates, what looks efficient today may hollow out tomorrow’s leadership and innovation capacity.
AI may automate tasks, but it cannot develop judgment, empathy, or culture, the foundations of organisational growth. The leaders who succeed will be those who see AI not as a replacement for human potential, but as a platform on which it can flourish.
How will your organisation balance automation with the need to nurture its next generation of talent?
