I lost my $200,000 job... now what?

Charles Broomfield

2,650 views • 4 days ago

Video Summary

A former AI safety evaluator at MITRE and security operations specialist at Amazon Web Services was laid off along with his entire team. This event, impacting 16,000 others on the same day and 30,000 over three months, highlights a significant shift within Amazon driven by the adoption of artificial intelligence, leading to role eliminations and a focus on automation. The speaker, financially secure due to frugal habits and 90 days of severance pay, is now planning his next steps, which include job searching, potentially moving home, or even relocating abroad if necessary. He also shares insights on navigating career uncertainty in the age of AI, emphasizing the importance of understanding AI's capabilities and focusing on uniquely human skills. A particularly striking detail is that his 90-day severance pay alone is projected to cover over a year of his living expenses.

Short Highlights

Approximately 16,000 Amazon employees, including the speaker's entire team, were laid off on the same day, with 30,000 layoffs occurring over the preceding three months.
The layoffs are attributed to Amazon's adoption of artificial intelligence and a strategic shift towards automation, replacing roles like technical project managers and security engineers with software developers.
The speaker, who previously evaluated AI safety and security, emphasizes that AI is now automating cognitive tasks, not just manual labor, which could disrupt many industries beyond tech.
Financially prepared due to frugal living, the speaker has 90 days of severance pay, which will cover over a year of his expenses, eliminating immediate financial stress.
Future plans include a multi-tiered approach: first, actively seeking a new high-paying job locally; second, considering moving back home; and third, potentially moving abroad if job prospects remain limited after six months.

Key Details

AI's Role in Amazon Layoffs [0:00]

The speaker's career began evaluating the safety, security, and reliability of artificial intelligence, finding it not yet ready for sensitive use cases without human oversight.
He received an email on a specific morning informing him and approximately 16,000 other employees that their roles at Amazon were eliminated due to organizational reviews and a focus on future priorities.
Over the preceding three months, Amazon had conducted about 30,000 layoffs, often without prior warnings or official announcements.
This trend aligns with statements made by Amazon's CEO the previous June, indicating a potential reduction in headcount as the company embraced artificial intelligence to grow profits and income.
The speaker's own team was laid off, and he notes that while executives claim it's not about AI, it's evident within Amazon that AI is a driving factor, with roles like his being replaced by software developers focused on automation.

"My research found that it was not ready yet. But today, it actually replaced me."

Career Path and AI's Disruptive Potential [0:00]

The speaker graduated in 2022 and began his career at MITRE Corporation, a government nonprofit research company, focusing on adopting AI into government operations securely and reliably.
His research indicated that AI was not ready for sensitive use cases without a "human in the loop" to review its decisions.
Following mass layoffs at MITRE in early 2025, he moved to Amazon Web Services (AWS), a decision that required him to repay his master's degree.
At AWS, he worked on systemic risks – complex, large-scale problems that are difficult to resolve quickly.
He expresses concern about individuals expecting traditional 45-year careers, especially given AI's disruptive potential, which he compares to the Industrial Revolution in its scale of impact across various industries.
AI's current capabilities include writing, coding, and research that surpass many humans, and Amazon is actively developing autonomous agents capable of independent decision-making.
Unlike previous technologies that automated manual labor to free humans for thinking, AI is now automating thinking itself, leaving manual labor as the remaining task and creating uncertainty about the future economy.

"But at this point, we're really getting to a position where I think AI is automating the thinking."

Personal Financial Preparedness and Security Concerns [0:00]

The speaker is not stressed about money due to his consistent practice of frugality, living well beneath his means, and saving aggressively, which means his bills are covered for a long time.
His 90-day severance pay from Amazon will cover more than a year of his expenses, as he lives on less than Virginia's minimum wage despite his higher Amazon salary.
His financial strategy remains largely unchanged, with the majority of his money invested, and he plans to keep only a bit more cash on hand for potential moving expenses.
He doesn't need to sell investments or make drastic financial changes, and he will re-evaluate his cash reserves closer to the end of his 90-day notice period.
The layoffs are not attributed to his individual performance but are organizational, stemming from a restructuring at AWS.
He expresses frustration about having to repay a $36,000 master's degree to join Amazon, only to be laid off after seven months.
He also experiences imposter syndrome when reviewing job applications due to his diverse experience across research, management, and unique risk management at Amazon.

"The second thing I'm worried about is that I am pretty darn concerned about Amazon trying to mitigate so many security issues without a human involved."

Job Search Strategy and Networking [0:00]

Upon learning of the potential layoff, the speaker updated his resume, documenting his Amazon experience.
He reached out to his network, including former colleagues from MITRE who are now at other good companies, emphasizing the value of "weak ties" for referrals.
He highlights that networking should stem from genuine interest in people and making good impressions, leading to a built-in network of individuals who trust and value his work.
His approach to networking, from being a computer science tutor in college to leading teams at his previous company, has always been about building relationships.
He has applied to about half a dozen jobs and plans to submit many more, aiming to stay local given his proximity to public transport and major tech company offices (Microsoft, Google, Mandiant, Capital One, JP Morgan Chase).
He is looking for a position with no more than a 25% pay cut from his Amazon salary, ideally between $150,000 to $200,000 or more, and hopes to avoid moving due to family and a favorable lease.
If local job prospects are scarce after 90 days, he considers moving back home to Colorado for a few months to save on rent while continuing his job search.

"Really, the way I think about it is I just want to talk to people who are interesting and who I like."

Long-Term Career Planning and AI-Proofing Skills [0:00]

As a backup plan, if job hunting proves difficult for six months, he would seriously consider moving abroad to live on less, potentially even retiring early with his savings.
He has enough savings to be financially free in a low-cost-of-living area and could supplement income through his YouTube channel, which generates $500-$800 per month, covering about half of his current expenses.
He believes it makes more logical sense to find another high-paying job locally to achieve financial freedom faster, but moving abroad remains a viable option if job searching is extremely challenging.
For individuals still early in their careers or with long careers ahead, he strongly recommends "AI-proofing" their skill sets.
This involves understanding where AI can replace tasks and where it will struggle, and developing expertise in areas AI cannot replicate, such as complex problem-solving or uniquely human skills.
He anticipates that many knowledge-industry roles, like data, business, financial, and security analysts, will eventually be replaced by end-to-end AI systems.