Amazon replaces on-site HR staff with app-based automation

Amazon is systematically removing human HR staff from its warehouse operations, replacing them with automated apps and chatbots that workers say routinely fail to handle basic requests, according to warehouse employees and former HR staff.

At an Amazon warehouse in Northeast Ohio, a night-shift worker named Laura has watched the transformation firsthand. When she started 18 months ago, HR employees were available on-site throughout most shifts. Now, she says, HR operates on "banking hours"—rarely visible on weekends and almost never during night shifts.

"On night shifts, we're lucky to see them one day a week," Laura told Fast Company, using a pseudonym to avoid retaliation.

The shift has forced workers to handle all HR matters through an app that frequently blocks legitimate requests. When Laura's cousin died, the app denied her time-off request because she couldn't immediately provide a death certificate. A separate hospitalization required a month-long leave-of-absence process as the app repeatedly demanded additional medical documentation.

The automation push behind the cuts

The changes stem from Amazon's broader effort to operate "like the world's largest startup," as CEO Andy Jassy described the company's philosophy in his 2024 shareholder letter. That vision has translated into massive workforce reductions, particularly in HR.

Amazon eliminated over 27,000 jobs in 2023 across two layoff rounds that heavily targeted HR—which the company had recently rebranded as "people experience and technology" (PXT). Another 30,000 positions were cut over the following two years. HR chief Beth Galetti framed the cuts as a way to "increase ownership and realize efficiency gains."

While Jassy has denied that AI directly drove the layoffs—calling the changes "culture"-driven rather than "AI-driven"—the company has simultaneously touted generative AI as "transformative" and pushed workers toward automated systems.

Why it matters

Amazon's approach offers a preview of how large employers may use automation to reduce HR headcount while claiming efficiency gains. The company's 1.5 million-employee workforce makes it a bellwether for workplace trends that could spread across industries. When automated systems fail to handle nuanced situations—deaths, medical emergencies, documentation requirements—workers lose their primary avenue for resolving problems that directly affect their livelihoods. The pattern suggests that automation may work for routine transactions but breaks down precisely when human judgment matters most.

Worker complaints proliferate online

The issues extend beyond individual warehouses. Reddit forums dedicated to Amazon warehouse workers contain hundreds of posts describing similar struggles with automated HR systems. Workers consistently report being unable to reach human staff when apps fail to process requests.

When Laura does find an HR employee, "the first thing they ask me is if I tried to do it through the app," she said. "But I've obviously already tried that if I'm looking for a human being."

An Amazon spokesperson told Fast Company that "a small sample of anecdotes don't reflect the experiences of our workforce of more than 1.5 million employees," and emphasized the company's "extensive accommodations and benefits."

The details were first reported by Pavithra Mohan at Fast Company.