Amazon Is Reportedly Planning to Replace Half a Million Workers With Robots and Automation

Amazon could reportedly use robots and automation to replace future human workers. As per the report, the Seattle-based tech giant is planning to reduce reliance on hiring new workers and replace those jobs with artificial intelligence (AI)-powered robotics. If things go according to the claims, the e-commerce giant could avoid hiring as many as 6,00,000 workers in the US by the year 2033. In anticipation of backlash, the company has reportedly told its executives not to use words such as automation, robots, and AI.

Amazon's Automation Plans Could Replace Half a Million Jobs

According to The New York Times, Amazon is leaning towards workplace automation to reduce its need for human workers. Based on interviews and internal strategy documents viewed by the publication, it claims the company is planning to avoid hiring more than 1,60,000 human workers in the US by 2027. The move will reportedly help it save 30 cents (roughly Rs. 26) on each item the company picks from the warehouse, packs, and delivers to the end customer.

Based on the documents, the report claims that the company executives told the board members that robotic automation can handle selling and fulfilling delivery of twice as many products without requiring new workers by 2033. In terms of real-world impact, the number could reportedly be in excess of 600,000. This is significant given that Amazon's US workforce currently includes 1.2 million workers.

The documents reportedly also reveal that the company's robotics division is planning to revamp the entire warehouse technology to automate as much as 75 percent of the operation. It is unclear whether this would lead to the layoff of current warehouse workers in the US or not.

Interestingly, the publication claims that Amazon is already preparing for a backlash that it is likely to receive due to large-scale automation. Some of these measures to become a “good corporate citizen” reportedly include participation in community events and avoiding terms such as automation and AI when discussing robotics. Instead, the company executives have reportedly been told to use words such as advanced technology. Citing the documents, the publication claims that the company plans to replace the word robot with “cobot,” which means machines that collaborate with humans.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told the NYT that the documents only highlight the opinions of a single team in the company, and not of the company at large. Nantel also claimed that Amazon is planning to hire 2,50,000 US workers for the upcoming holiday season, although it was not revealed whether these were seasonal contractual hires or permanent roles. The spokesperson also denied claims of insisting that employees not use certain words related to automation.