Amazon hopes to replace 600,000 US workers with robots, according to leaked documents | Job losses could shave 30 cents off each item purchased by 2027.
Amazon hopes to replace 600,000 US workers with robots, according to leaked documents | Job losses could shave 30 cents off each item purchased by 2027.
From the article: Amazon is reportedly leaning into automation plans that will enable the company to avoid hiring more than half a million US workers. Citing interviews and internal strategy documents, The New York Times reports that Amazon is hoping its robots can replace more than 600,000 jobs it would otherwise have to hire in the United States by 2033, despite estimating it’ll sell about twice as many products over the period.
Documents reportedly show that Amazon’s robotics team is working towards automating 75 percent of the company’s entire operations, and expects to ditch 160,000 US roles that would otherwise be needed by 2027. This would save about 30 cents on every item that Amazon warehouses and delivers to customers, with automation efforts expected to save the company $12.6 billion from 2025 to 2027.
Amazon has considered steps to improve its image as a “good corporate citizen” in preparation for the anticipated backlash around job losses, according to The NYT, reporting that the company considered participating in community projects and avoiding terms like “automation” and “AI.” More vague terms like “advanced technology” were explored instead, and using the term “cobot” for robots that work alongside humans.
In a statement to The NYT, Amazon said the leaked documents were incomplete and did not represent the company’s overall hiring strategy, and that executives are not being instructed to avoid using certain terms when referring to robotics. We have also reached out to Amazon for comment.
“Nobody else has the same incentive as Amazon to find the way to automate. Once they work out how to do this profitably, it will spread to others, too,” Daron Acemoglu, winner of the Nobel Prize in economic science last year, told The NYT. Adding that if Amazon achieves its automation goal, “one of the biggest employers in the United States will become a net job destroyer, not a net job creator.”
ColdStorageParticle on
lol how will people buy anything if you have people without jobs? Do they even think for a second?
Granum22 on
I’m more than willing to pay an extra 30¢ for 600,000 people to have jobs
CreamPuffDelight on
That 30 cents they saved?
It sure as hell isn’t going into the people’s pockets.
3 guesses where they *will* go though, and the first two don’t count.
I_R0M_I on
It won’t save US any money. It will just make Amazon 30 cents per sale more.
Trying to frame it like it will bring prices down.
will_dormer on
Did amazon consider that these 600000workses now can’t buy from amazon hurting their profits
Patutula on
I rather pay 30 cents more and not have my neighbor starve. This is idiotic.
roychr on
Not worth the 30 cents… buy locally made things. Support local entrepreneurs who don’t buy crap from china and amazon.
90Carat on
I wonder what changed? Amazon has been trying for years to automate their operations.
Calculon2347 on
Hooray, automation means we get freedom from toil, and luxury. Right? Guys????
augalicious on
Mighty bold to assume that they use the cost savings to lower prices instead of pocketing it.
N3CR0T1C_V3N0M on
And yet prices will be .60¢ higher in 2028 for.. reasons.
thisthreadisbear on
I haven’t bought anything on Amazon since the last year and I used to buy things pretty regularly. The only thing these corporations understand is dollars. Vote with your wallet people.
likwik on
Amazon has two choices, treat their workers better and increase costs, or continue treating warehouse workers as a disposable commodity, eventually replacing them with robots, further lowering costs.
I’d also argue that part of the push to automation is that they’ve churned through so many workers, they soon won’t be able to find anyone to hire. It would take LAWS to force them to treat their workers humanely, but the billionaires own/control the USA government.
affemannen on
… They will also lose 600k customers seeing as how these people no longer can afford to buy their shit.
They always seem to forget that the capitalist model requires workers to consume their hard earned money through spending.
hisglasses66 on
Dawg, people don’t want those warehouse jobs. They’re awful.
shyishguyish on
Yeah, they’re not doing it to save US thirty cents.
Yourstruly75 on
And those 30% will be pocketed by Bezos, not passed on to the consumer
under1over1 on
I’m sensing a 30 cent increase with this change on every product.
Weikoko on
And they expect revenue to increase with this cut lol.
Chrono_Convoy on
I’d gladly pay 60 cents to double the hiring power.
qret on
For those who didn’t read:
1. It is not 600k fired, it is 600k new workers not hired, and the timeline for that is 2033, not 2027.
2. The $.30 per item is by 2027, so the headline is conflating two different timelines. $.30 is basically the impact of the first 50k avoided hires. It does not say what the full inpact would be.
AdHopeful3801 on
I’m sure 600,000 unemployed people will appreciate the 30 cents per item, with their now non-existent incomes.
If there were to bea peak story about the self-destructiveness of shareholder capitalism, this might be it.
pennylanebarbershop on
I’m going to take my 30 cents and have a night out on the town.
Tensor3 on
How about we just add $0.50 to every item, hire 500,000 people, AND increase profits with the extra 20c?
25 Comments
From the article: Amazon is reportedly leaning into automation plans that will enable the company to avoid hiring more than half a million US workers. Citing interviews and internal strategy documents, The New York Times reports that Amazon is hoping its robots can replace more than 600,000 jobs it would otherwise have to hire in the United States by 2033, despite estimating it’ll sell about twice as many products over the period.
Documents reportedly show that Amazon’s robotics team is working towards automating 75 percent of the company’s entire operations, and expects to ditch 160,000 US roles that would otherwise be needed by 2027. This would save about 30 cents on every item that Amazon warehouses and delivers to customers, with automation efforts expected to save the company $12.6 billion from 2025 to 2027.
Amazon has considered steps to improve its image as a “good corporate citizen” in preparation for the anticipated backlash around job losses, according to The NYT, reporting that the company considered participating in community projects and avoiding terms like “automation” and “AI.” More vague terms like “advanced technology” were explored instead, and using the term “cobot” for robots that work alongside humans.
In a statement to The NYT, Amazon said the leaked documents were incomplete and did not represent the company’s overall hiring strategy, and that executives are not being instructed to avoid using certain terms when referring to robotics. We have also reached out to Amazon for comment.
“Nobody else has the same incentive as Amazon to find the way to automate. Once they work out how to do this profitably, it will spread to others, too,” Daron Acemoglu, winner of the Nobel Prize in economic science last year, told The NYT. Adding that if Amazon achieves its automation goal, “one of the biggest employers in the United States will become a net job destroyer, not a net job creator.”
lol how will people buy anything if you have people without jobs? Do they even think for a second?
I’m more than willing to pay an extra 30¢ for 600,000 people to have jobs
That 30 cents they saved?
It sure as hell isn’t going into the people’s pockets.
3 guesses where they *will* go though, and the first two don’t count.
It won’t save US any money. It will just make Amazon 30 cents per sale more.
Trying to frame it like it will bring prices down.
Did amazon consider that these 600000workses now can’t buy from amazon hurting their profits
I rather pay 30 cents more and not have my neighbor starve. This is idiotic.
Not worth the 30 cents… buy locally made things. Support local entrepreneurs who don’t buy crap from china and amazon.
I wonder what changed? Amazon has been trying for years to automate their operations.
Hooray, automation means we get freedom from toil, and luxury. Right? Guys????
Mighty bold to assume that they use the cost savings to lower prices instead of pocketing it.
And yet prices will be .60¢ higher in 2028 for.. reasons.
I haven’t bought anything on Amazon since the last year and I used to buy things pretty regularly. The only thing these corporations understand is dollars. Vote with your wallet people.
Amazon has two choices, treat their workers better and increase costs, or continue treating warehouse workers as a disposable commodity, eventually replacing them with robots, further lowering costs.
I’d also argue that part of the push to automation is that they’ve churned through so many workers, they soon won’t be able to find anyone to hire. It would take LAWS to force them to treat their workers humanely, but the billionaires own/control the USA government.
… They will also lose 600k customers seeing as how these people no longer can afford to buy their shit.
They always seem to forget that the capitalist model requires workers to consume their hard earned money through spending.
Dawg, people don’t want those warehouse jobs. They’re awful.
Yeah, they’re not doing it to save US thirty cents.
And those 30% will be pocketed by Bezos, not passed on to the consumer
I’m sensing a 30 cent increase with this change on every product.
And they expect revenue to increase with this cut lol.
I’d gladly pay 60 cents to double the hiring power.
For those who didn’t read:
1. It is not 600k fired, it is 600k new workers not hired, and the timeline for that is 2033, not 2027.
2. The $.30 per item is by 2027, so the headline is conflating two different timelines. $.30 is basically the impact of the first 50k avoided hires. It does not say what the full inpact would be.
I’m sure 600,000 unemployed people will appreciate the 30 cents per item, with their now non-existent incomes.
If there were to bea peak story about the self-destructiveness of shareholder capitalism, this might be it.
I’m going to take my 30 cents and have a night out on the town.
How about we just add $0.50 to every item, hire 500,000 people, AND increase profits with the extra 20c?