Why firing junior staff for AI is the dumbest idea in business
Amazon Web Services CEO, Matt Garman, said recently that using AI to replace junior workers is “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
He’s right.
And the fact that some executives are even considering it, is a symptom of a much larger problem: CEOs are letting the wrong people drive their AI transformations.
Why junior roles matter
The idea that entry-level staff should be the first to go in the age of AI makes no sense. For one, junior employees are usually the cheapest part of the workforce. If cost-cutting is the goal, it’s a poor strategy.
But more importantly, junior staff are coachable and eager to learn. Given the right mentorship, they grow into the leaders which organisations desperately need. Take them out of the pipeline and you cripple your future leadership bench.
And here’s the irony: younger employees are often the fastest to embrace AI. They experiment, adapt, and integrate these tools into workflows naturally. Replace them with AI, and you don’t just lose human talent – you lose the very people most likely to accelerate AI adoption.
The real problem: Who’s driving AI strategy?
So why are junior roles even being discussed? Because too many organisations have let middle management set the direction of AI transformation. That’s the real danger.
Middle managers, by nature, are often focused on protecting the status quo – guarding their territories, not redesigning them. They see AI as a way to squeeze more out of junior staff, not as a tool to fundamentally reimagine how work gets done.
This is why CEOs must step in directly.
AI isn’t just another IT upgrade. It’s an organisational redesign moment. And if the people at the very top aren’t leading that redesign, companies will default to bad choices – like cutting junior staff to look “efficient.”
Where the job impacts really fall
If AI is deployed thoughtfully, the real structural change won’t be at the bottom. It will be in the middle.
The layers of reporting, approval, and oversight that make up much of middle management are exactly where AI can deliver the biggest efficiency gains. That doesn’t mean middle managers disappear, but it does mean their roles change dramatically. Instead of gatekeeping processes, they need to become enablers of AI-powered teams.
By contrast, junior staff should be shielded, developed, and invested in. They are the raw material of the AI-ready workforce.
A call to CEOs
This is why Matt Garman’s words matter. His warning should be a wake-up call for business leaders everywhere. The dumbest thing you can do with AI is use it to cut the very people who represent your future.
But the second dumbest thing? Sitting back and letting AI transformation be led from the middle. CEOs must own this. They must redesign their organisations for an AI age – flatten hierarchies, reimagine workflows, and think seriously about which roles create real value.
Because if the future of work is driven by fear of redundancy instead of vision for growth, we’ll not only lose trust in AI – we’ll lose the next generation of leaders before they’ve even had a chance to start.
My view is clear
AI shouldn’t eliminate junior staff. It should empower them.
The real disruption is coming for middle management, and only CEOs can guide their organisations through that change.
Will Liang is the CEO of Amplify AI Group.
Disclaimer
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