This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tejal Rives, 35, who lives in Arizona. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
In October 2025, I read a news article that Amazon was planning to cut jobs. I’d survived other layoffs, but this time my gut told me I’d be affected. Sure enough, not long after, I received an email that my position as a product marketer was being eliminated.
I was one of 14,000 people impacted, and even though I understood the decision wasn’t personal, it was very disheartening. I thought up-skilling in AI would make me safer from layoffs, but even though it didn’t, I still think professionals should focus on learning this one important AI skill: prompt engineering.
I thought working on AI could safeguard my job
At the time of the October layoffs, there was debate around whether AI was the reason.
The company was encouraging us to use AI at the time, but I don’t think it took my job. I wrote descriptions for internal products at Amazon, and when I used AI to help, I’d need to ask it to rewrite its output without fluff words. It didn’t sound like how people talk. Despite my ethical qualms, I used AI, but, in my opinion, it was nowhere close to replacing my role.
Before I was laid off, I helped build an internal site for Amazon using AI. I hadn’t really coded before, but with a colleague’s help, I learned how to vibe code with a lot of trial and error.
I thought using AI for this project and showcasing different skills would make me more valuable to the company, but in the end, it didn’t keep me from being laid off.
Initially, I felt like I’d wasted time by learning something I likely wouldn’t use again, but overall, I don’t think my efforts were wasted. The most important thing the experience taught me was prompt engineering, the practice of asking AI the right questions. I want to be minimal with my use of AI for ethical reasons, including around the water resources needed to power data centers. Efficient prompt engineering helps me ask AI my question once, without needing to clarify three or more times.
I’d highly recommend that other professionals learn prompt engineering to up-skill themselves in the age of AI.
The workforce has shifted, and you’re likely going to need to learn AI and use it at your job, regardless of your moral qualms. We need to up-skill to survive.
I have my own business, and use AI very rarely
My husband and I already agreed that if I were laid off, I’d focus on being the primary parent to our child as well as on my career coaching business, called Do My Resume LLC, which I was running on the side of my Amazon job. Before being laid off, I planned to eventually quit my job and focus on it full-time.
I didn’t realize how burnt out I was after four years at Amazon, though, and it took me a while to pivot into working on my business. For roughly three weeks, I didn’t touch my computer. I took up sewing and house-cleaning projects because I needed separation from my screen.
Now, my life is slower than it was at Amazon. I spend roughly four hours a day, six days a week, on the business, and spend the rest of my time taking care of the house and my family.
The business provides career coaching and résumé-writing services, but we don’t use AI to write résumés, because it’s humans who read them. Recently, I used AI to give me advice about starting a YouTube series for my business, so I will use this technology to help me flesh out ideas, but very rarely. I haven’t vibe-coded since the project at Amazon.
My husband is the breadwinner, and we can survive on his income, but the business is bringing in some fun money for me.
I think people should prepare for layoffs in the age of AI
Being laid off helped me remember that, at the end of the day, your job and company shouldn’t be your entire life. It shouldn’t come before your well-being.
I wish I hadn’t sacrificed time with my child to get projects done towards the end of my time at Amazon. I’m glad I’m no longer sacrificing that time.
I think there will be more layoffs that will be attributed to AI’s efficiency, and professionals should always be prepared. Reskilling in the age of AI won’t necessarily stop a company from laying you off, but it might help you land a role faster.
Amazon did not provide a statement in response to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Do you have a story to share about being laid off in 2026? Contact this reporter at [email protected]
