In a tech-advanced world where automation is reshaping industries, Amazon is now gearing up for its next major workplace transformation, replacing over half a million human jobs with robots. According to a New York Times report, the Jeff Bezos-led e-commerce giant could save around 30 cents per item through automation in processes like picking, packing, and delivery, translating to potential savings of up to $12.6 billion between 2025 and 2027.
The company is working toward building highly automated warehouses with minimal human staff to enable faster deliveries. Amazon’s robotics division ultimately aims to automate about 75% of its operations, the report added.
Since 2018, Amazon's workforce in the United States has tripled, now totaling nearly 1.2 million employees. However, the company's automation team expects that by 2027, it will be able to prevent the need to hire more than 160,000 additional employees in the US.
Last year, executives told Amazon's board that robotic automation might enable the company to stabilize its hiring rate, despite anticipating a doubling of sales by 2033. This implies that Amazon might not need to recruit more than 600,000 additional workers, they noted.
Following the news release, Amazon issued a statement claiming that the documents examined by the NYT were incomplete and did not accurately depict the company's comprehensive hiring strategy. Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokeswoman, explained that the documents represented the perspective of a particular group within the company and noted that Amazon intends to hire 250,000 employees for the upcoming holiday season. However, the company did not reveal how many of these positions would be permanent.
Amazon's state-of-the-art warehouse, which opened last year in Shreveport, Louisiana, is establishing a new standard for the company's future robotic fulfillment centers. After items are packaged, human participation is significantly reduced. The facility, with more than a thousand robots in use, has reportedly decreased its workforce by 25% compared to conventional, non-automated locations.
