Amazon, the second largest employer in the U.S. after Walmart, could slash hundreds of thousands of jobs by replacing human workers with robots over the next decade, according to a report based on internal documents.
The potential strategy, reported by The New York Times, comes from Amazon’s automation team, which provided figures suggesting the company could conceivably avoid hiring more than 160,000 people in the United States it would otherwise require by 2027.
The retail colossus has previously suggested that robotic automation will enable the company to expand its sales to twice as many products by 2033, without increasing its U.S. workforce.
The cache of documents, along with interviews carried out by the Times, suggests that such an overhaul would result in more than 600,000 people whom Amazon didn’t need to hire over the next decade.
However, Amazon has rejected the Times’ findings. In an email to The Independent, Amazon stated that the 600,000 figure originated from a document from one team within the company, which they said isn’t involved in hiring.
Spokesperson Kelly Nantel said: “Leaked documents often paint an incomplete and misleading picture of our plans, and that’s the case here. In our written narrative culture, thousands of documents circulate throughout the company at any given time, each with varying degrees of accuracy and timeliness.
“In this instance, the materials appear to reflect the perspective of just one team and don't represent our overall hiring strategy across our various operations business lines – now or moving forward.”
She added, “No company has created more jobs in America over the past decade than Amazon. We're actively hiring at operations facilities across the country and recently announced plans to fill 250,000 positions for the holiday season.”
Despite the reassurances, Amazon’s drive to utilise cutting-edge robotics to streamline operations and cut costs will come as little surprise to many.
According to the Times, specific changes are occurring at a pace: At Amazon’s superfast delivery hubs, the company is aiming to build warehouses employing a minimal human workforce. Documents from the firm’s robotics team suggest a goal to automate 75 per cent of its operations at these facilities.
Furthermore, Amazon’s drive towards ever more efficient operations and increased automation has already made it a retail pioneer that other companies emulate. As more advanced robotics becomes available, economies of scale suggest Amazon will serve as a model for other major retailers.
Amazon now operates over one million robots across its fulfillment network, edging closer to its 1.56 million-strong human workforce, most of whom are employed in warehouses.
These robots, ranging from mobile units that ferry inventory to robotic arms that pick, sort, and package items, now assist in about three-quarters of Amazon’s global deliveries.
The company has a rich history of technological innovation, which sits uncomfortably alongside its equally extensive history of scandals in its human resources.
For every story about new drone delivery, there is another about strikes, stress, and pressure on the people working at Amazon facilities around the world.
As the march towards robots continues, the need for human workers will naturally fall.
In July this year, Amazon credited the rise in automation with reducing physical strain and improving workplace safety. Still, figures also revealed this drive is already contributing to a decrease in average warehouse staffing levels. The typical Amazon facility now employs just 670 people, the lowest number in 16 years.
