Amazon to Replace 500,000 Jobs with Robots by 2033

One of the biggest employers in the US, Amazon, is getting ready for a significant change in the way it manages its warehouses. Roughly over the next ten years, the firm plans to replace roughly half a million jobs with robots, according to internal documents and interviews that The New York Times examined.

With about 1.2 million workers, Amazon’s U.S. workforce has grown quickly, but the company thinks technology might save it from adding more than 160,000 more people by 2027. It is anticipated that the business will save roughly 30 cents for each item it processes. According to executives, Amazon could handle twice as many products by 2033 with robotic systems without having to hire a lot more workers.

Amazon Planning to Deploy it in its Warehouses

In warehouses built for lightning-fast deliveries, where robots do the majority of the hard lifting, packing, and transferring of items, the company is exploring this strategy. As an illustration, Amazon’s Shreveport, Louisiana, warehouse is already using about 1,000 robots, which enables it to run with 25% fewer employees than it would require in the absence of automation. By 2027, plans are underway to replicate this strategy in 40 more facilities, including an older building in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and a large warehouse in Virginia Beach.

At Amazon, robotics are frequently referred to as “cobots” to imply cooperation with people rather than complete replacement. In order to control impressions in communities where employment may be lost, the corporation has also thought about referring to it as “advanced technology” rather than “automation” or “AI” in public conversations.

Move will Create New Pool of Job Opportunities: Amazon

According to Amazon, rather than merely replacing current professions, robots are supposed to generate new, better-paying technical occupations like robotics technicians. Over 160 employees at Shreveport are paid at least $24.45 per hour as robotics technicians, while other warehouse workers make about $19.50. To prepare employees for these future positions, the business also offers apprenticeship programmes in mechatronics.

However, because Amazon warehouses employ a large number of Black workers, experts caution that the shift to robotics could disproportionately damage communities of colour and blue-collar workers. Although the corporation has stated that it does not intend to lay off employees, automation and attrition may eventually result in fewer employees at some sites.

To put it briefly, Amazon is utilising robots to increase productivity and reduce costs as it moves towards a fully automated future. This raises significant concerns about the future of traditional warehouse work and the people who depend on it, even while it might lead to the creation of new technical positions.