Amazon is reportedly moving towards an era of unprecedented automation that would put half a million jobs in the US at risk. According to a series of interviews and internal documents referenced in an extensive report from The New York Times, Amazon executives expect to sell twice as many products by 2033. But by scaling up its robotics operations believe it could avoid the 600,000 hires it would otherwise have to make to keep up with the demand.
According to the report, documents show that the ultimate aim of Amazon’s in-house robotics department is to automate 75 percent of all operations, and if it is successful in making 160,000 fewer hires by 2027, the company would reportedly save 30 cents on each item it packs and delivers to customers in the US. Amazon recently celebrated deploying its 1 millionth robot, a fleet it has been adding to since unveiling its first fully autonomous mobile robot in 2022.
Despite already pushing ahead with building warehouses that employ few humans, the NYT report claims that Amazon is planning for the eventual impact on affected communities and the potential backlash by participating in local events to establish a reputation as a “good corporate citizen.” The internal documents also discuss the avoidance of terms such as “automation” and “AI” in relation to robotics, suggesting instead that executives use terms like “advanced technology” instead. They even consider replacing using “cobot” instead of “robot” as the former implies a collaborative relationship with humans.
In a statement to the NYT, Amazon called the plans it cited incomplete and not reflective of its overall hiring strategy. It denied that its community efforts were related to its automation plans and said it’s not insisting that its executives refrain from using certain terms. The company added that it planned to hire 250,000 people for the imminent holiday season, but wouldn’t say how many of these would be permanent hires.
