Copyright Gizmodo
The nation’s second-largest employer is reportedly hoping robots will take your job—or, what could have potentially been your job, at least. After years of hiring thousands of warehouse employees and delivery drivers to build a roughly 1.2 million U.S. workforce, second only to Walmart, Amazon is reportedly shifting gears. The New York Times reported today, citing interviews and internal documents, that Amazon’s automation team expects that by 2027, the company could avoid hiring more than 160,000 U.S. workers it would normally need. If true, that would save the company about 30 cents on every item it packs and delivers. On top of that, executives also told Amazon’s board last year that robotic automation could potentially keep the company’s U.S. headcount steady even as sales are expected to double by 2033. According to the Times, that could mean Amazon won’t need to hire more than 600,000 new workers. Overall, Amazon’s robotics team has an ultimate goal to automate 75 percent of the company’s operations, according to internal documents obtained by The New York Times. The report comes as anxiety continues to grow about the impact automation and AI could have on jobs. The Times points out that Amazon is a major influence in the e-commerce space and wherever it goes, other players like Walmart and UPS, the first and third largest U.S. employers, are likely to follow. The company is also reportedly preparing for potential fallout from its plans. According to documents viewed by The New York Times, Amazon has considered working on its image by taking part in community events such as parades and toy drives. It also contemplated avoiding terms like automation and AI, and instead using phrases like “advanced technology” and “cobot.” Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, told Gizmodo in an emailed statement that the leaked documents paint an incomplete picture of the company’s plans, given that thousands of documents circulate throughout the company at any given time, each with varying degrees of accuracy. “In this instance, the materials appear to reflect the perspective of just one team and don’t represent our overall hiring strategy across our various operations business lines – now or moving forward,” Nantel wrote. She noted that the company plans to hire 250,000 people for the upcoming holiday season. Amazon also told The New York Times that it’s not asking employees to avoid certain terms, and that its involvement in community events is not tied to its automation plans. Additionally, Amazon’s head of worldwide operations, Udit Madan, told the Times that the company has a track record of reinvesting savings from automation into new roles, pointing to its recent effort to open more delivery hubs in rural areas. Still, some level of automation is already taking place in Amazon facilities, and it’s likely to spread. Amazon already has a million robots working around the globe, according to the Times. For example, Amazon opened its most advanced warehouse in Shreveport, Louisiana, last year as a template for future robotic fulfillment centers. The New York Times reported that documents show Amazon uses about a thousand robots in the facility, allowing it to employ roughly 25% fewer workers than it would have without automation.
