Amazon, one of the largest employers in the United States, is preparing for a major shift in how it runs its warehouses. According to internal documents and interviews reviewed by The New York Times, the company is aiming to replace more than half a million jobs with robots over the next decade.
Amazon’s U.S. workforce has grown rapidly, now numbering nearly 1.2 million employees, but the company believes that automation could allow it to avoid hiring more than 160,000 additional people by 2027. That’s expected to save the company about 30 cents per item it processes. Executives say robotic systems could help Amazon handle twice as many products by 2033 without significantly expanding staff.
The company is testing this approach in warehouses designed for superfast deliveries, where robots handle most of the heavy lifting, packing, and moving of goods. For example, Amazon’s facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, is already using around 1,000 robots, allowing the warehouse to operate with 25% fewer workers than it would need without automation. Plans are in place to replicate this model in 40 more facilities by 2027, including a major warehouse in Virginia Beach and an older facility in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Robotics at Amazon are often called “cobots” to suggest collaboration with humans rather than full replacement. The company has also considered avoiding terms like “automation” or “AI” in public discussions, instead calling it “advanced technology” to manage perceptions in communities that may lose jobs.
Amazon says robots are meant to create new, higher-paid technical jobs, like robotics technicians, rather than just eliminating existing positions. At Shreveport, over 160 people work as robotics technicians, earning at least $24.45 per hour, while other warehouse workers earn around $19.50 per hour. The company also runs apprenticeship programs in mechatronics to train workers for these future roles.
Experts warn, however, that the shift to robots could disproportionately affect blue-collar workers and communities of color, as Amazon warehouses employ a large number of Black workers. While the company has said it does not plan layoffs, attrition and automation could reduce staffing at some locations over time.
In short, Amazon is moving toward a highly automated future, using robots to save costs and improve efficiency. While this may create new technical jobs, it also raises important questions about the future of traditional warehouse work and the people who rely on it.
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