Key Takeaways
- Amazon plans to replace over 500,000 jobs with robots according to internal documents
- Company aims to avoid hiring 160,000 US workers by 2027 through automation
- Robotics team targets automating 75% of warehouse operations
- Nobel economist warns Amazon could become “net job destroyer”
Amazon is preparing for its most significant workplace transformation yet – replacing more than half a million jobs with robotic automation. Internal strategy documents reviewed by The New York Times reveal executives believe the company stands at the brink of this massive shift.
Automation Targets and Cost Savings
Amazon’s automation team projects the company can avoid hiring over 160,000 people in the United States by 2027 that would otherwise be needed. This robotic replacement strategy would save approximately US$0.30 on each item picked, packed and delivered.
Executives informed Amazon’s board in 2024 that robotic automation should enable the company to maintain its current US workforce levels despite expecting to sell twice as many products by 2033.
The Fully Automated Warehouse Vision
At facilities designed for superfast deliveries, Amazon is developing warehouses that employ very few humans. The company’s robotics team has set an ultimate goal to automate 75 percent of its operations.
Internal documents show Amazon contemplates using terminology like “advanced technology” or “cobot” instead of “automation” and “artificial intelligence” to imply collaboration with humans.
Expert Concerns and Company Response
“Nobody else has the same incentive as Amazon to find the way to automate,” said Dr. Daron Acemoglu, MIT professor and 2024 Nobel Prize winner in economic science. He warned that if these plans succeed, “one of the biggest employers in the United States will become a net job destroyer, not a net job creator.”
Amazon responded that the documents were incomplete and don’t represent its overall hiring strategy. Spokesperson Kelly Nantel noted the company plans to hire 250,000 people for the upcoming holiday season.
Udit Madan, who leads worldwide operations for Amazon, added: “That you have efficiency in one part of the business doesn’t tell the whole story for the total impact it might have, either in a particular community or for the country overall.”
