Amazon plans to replace half a million workers with robots
Amazon's US workforce has more than tripled since 2018 to almost 1.2 million. However, Amazon's automation team predicts that the company may avoid hiring more than 160,000 people in the US by 2027
A series of internal strategy documents viewed by the New York Times reveal that Amazon executives are working to replace more than half a million jobs with robots.
Amazon's workforce in the US has more than tripled since 2018, reaching nearly 1.2 million. However, Amazon's automation team predicts that the company will be able to avoid hiring more than 160,000 people in the US by 2027. This would save about 30 cents on every item Amazon picks up, packs, and delivers to customers.
Last year, Amazon executives told the board of directors that automation will avoid increasing the workforce in the US in the coming years, despite the fact that sales are expected to double by 2033. In numerical terms, that is more than 600,000 people that Amazon would no longer need to hire.
In facilities designed for superfast deliveries, Amazon intends to automate 75 per cent of its operations, employing very few humans. The e-commerce giant responded by saying that the Times documents were incomplete.
