🏢 Amazon CEO: AI Will Shrink Our Corporate Workforce

🏢 Amazon CEO: AI Will Shrink Our Corporate Workforce

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that the company's corporate workforce will shrink in coming years as they deploy more AI agents and automation tools. Jassy told employees they'll "need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs."

📌 Why it matters: This isn't just Amazon—it's a preview of corporate America's AI transformation. When a 1.56 million-employee company openly says AI will reduce headcount, it signals what's coming across industries. The key phrase: "get more done with scrappier teams."

🎯 Action Tip: Don't wait to be displaced. Start identifying which parts of your current role could be automated, then position yourself as the person who implements and manages those automations. The survivors won't be those who resist AI—they'll be those who orchestrate it.

💡 The bigger picture: Amazon is already using AI for inventory placement, demand forecasting, and warehouse robots. Other companies like Shopify and Klarna are making similar moves.
🔗 Read the full article

🎓 Google Partners with Maryland Universities for Massive AI Training Push

🎓 Google Partners with Maryland Universities for Massive AI Training Push

Google is bringing AI training and career certificates to all 12 University System of Maryland campuses, targeting thousands of students—including a major focus on military veterans. The partnership offers job-ready training in cybersecurity, data analytics, and project management in under six months, with no prior experience needed.

📌 Why it matters: This isn't just another training program—it's a blueprint for how AI education will scale nationwide. When Google picks Maryland as a testing ground, other states will follow. Over 70% of Google Career Certificate graduates report positive career outcomes within six months.

🎯 Action Tip: If you're not in Maryland, don't wait. Google's AI Essentials course is already available online. The key is getting ahead of the wave—these university partnerships will flood the job market with AI-trained candidates in 6-12 months.

💡 The automation angle: Notice what Google is prioritizing: data analytics, project management, and "practical ways" to apply AI. These are automation-heavy roles where you're not just using AI tools, but building systems that work without constant human intervention.
🔗 Read the full article

🔍 Skill of the Week: Workflow Mapping for Automation

Before you can automate anything, you need to see the full picture. Workflow mapping is identifying every step in a process—including the hidden ones most people skip.

🛠️ Try this: Pick one repetitive task you do weekly. Write down every single step, including:

• Where the data comes from

• What decisions you make along the way

• Where the output goes

Example: "Generate weekly sales report" becomes:

1. Export data from CRM

2. Clean duplicate entries

3. Calculate percentage changes

4. Format in branded template

5. Email to 5 stakeholders

🎯 Why it matters: Once mapped, you can spot which steps are purely mechanical (perfect for automation) vs. which need human judgment.

🛠️ Tool Spotlight

🛠️ Tool Spotlight: n8n – Open Source Automation Powerhouse

For teams who want Make.com's visual interface but need more control (and better pricing), n8n delivers enterprise-level automation without the enterprise cost.

🧠 Use it to:

• Build complex multi-step workflows with conditional logic

• Connect APIs that other tools can't handle

• Process large datasets automatically

• Create custom webhook integrations

• Run automations on your own servers for data security

✅ Best For:

• Growing businesses outgrowing Zapier's limits

• Teams with technical members who want customization

• Companies handling sensitive data that can't use cloud tools

• Agencies building automation solutions for clients

🎓 Pro Tip: Start with n8n's cloud version to learn, then migrate to self-hosted once you need advanced features. Their community templates save hours of setup time.

🔗 Try it here: https://www.n8n.io

💼 Career Moves: Business Process Automation Analyst – The Microsoft Power Platform Expert

With Microsoft's Power Platform now in 97% of Fortune 500 companies, there's massive demand for people who can build sophisticated automations within the Microsoft ecosystem—without traditional coding skills.

What's different: You're not just an IT person who happens to use Power Automate. You're a business analyst who can translate department needs into automated solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing Microsoft tools.

💡 What sets Power Platform specialists apart:

• They build flows that connect Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, and third-party apps automatically

• They use Power Apps to create custom interfaces for complex approval workflows

• They leverage Power BI to create automated reporting dashboards that update in real-time

• They understand governance and compliance within enterprise Microsoft environments

🎯 Why it's valuable: Most companies are already paying for Power Automate through their Microsoft 365 licenses but barely using it. You become the person who unlocks millions in productivity value they're already entitled to.

Real example: A finance team manually processing expense reports in 2-3 days can automate the entire approval workflow—from submission to reimbursement—cutting processing time to 2-3 hours.

🚀 Next Step: Identify one repetitive process in your organization that involves Microsoft tools (email approvals, document routing, data entry). Build a simple Power Automate flow to handle it, then measure the time savings and present to leadership.

Bonus: Microsoft offers free Power Platform certifications that can immediately boost your credibility in this space.

This role is perfect for your automation focus because Power Automate is already deployed in most companies—they just need someone who knows how to use it effectively!

🔦 Real-World Example

Operations Efficiency 🔦

Meet Marcus, an operations manager at a consulting firm who was drowning in client onboarding paperwork. New clients meant 3-4 hours of manual document creation, email scheduling, and task assignments.

The automation: He built a Power Automate flow that triggers when a contract is signed. It automatically creates project folders, generates welcome packets, schedules kickoff meetings, and assigns tasks to team members.

Result: Client onboarding dropped from 4 hours to 30 minutes of setup time. The firm can now take on 25% more clients without hiring additional staff.

"The automation pays for itself with just one new client per month."

Thanks for reading,

Nick Javaid-Founder ThinkLayer.ai

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