Amazon has long been a pioneer in the use of data and technology to streamline its operations — turning an online bookstore into a global e-commerce and technology behemoth.
But the company appears poised to only ramp up those efforts in its bid to keep its globe-spanning logistics network humming.
The New York Times, citing internal company documents, reported Tuesday that engineers and executives at Amazon hope to eventually turn three-quarters of its operations over to automated technology, enabling warehouses that are staffed by just a handful of people — and effectively eliminating hundreds of thousands of would-be hires at the company.
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Amazon officials believe that increased robotics capabilities would allow the company to forgo hiring 160,000 workers in the U.S. by 2027, and curb more than 600,000 hires by 2033. At one suburban Atlanta distribution center alone, Amazon expects a pending robotics overhaul to allow it to process 10% more shipments with up to 1,200 fewer workers.
Ultimately, automated technology is poised to “flatten Amazon’s hiring curve over the next 10 years,” the company’s robotics team wrote in a recent strategy plan.
Company documents also indicated that Amazon is aware of the potential impact of the changes on the communities where it operates. The documents, for example, weigh using the term “advanced technology” in place of “automation” or “AI,” and “cobot,” rather than “robot.”
Amazon officials told the Times that the documents were an incomplete look at the company’s broader hiring strategy, and that its previous automation efforts have led to new jobs at the company. Those roles in the future, however, could become much more technical — and have a dramatic impact on its warehouse and delivery workforce.
One expert told the paper that automation on that scale would make Amazon a net destroyer, rather than creator, of jobs — and that similar systems would likely be adopted by others, like Walmart or UPS, seeking to keep up.
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