E-commerce and tech giant Amazon is gearing up for the age of AI, as it looks to replace hundreds of thousands of US jobs with robots.
Executives now believe Amazon can automate a majority of its U.S. operations, sharply reducing future hiring needs while expanding output, reports the New York Times.
The company’s workforce has more than tripled since 2018 to nearly 1.2 million, but its automation team projects it can avoid hiring 160,000 additional employees by 2027.
Internal strategy documents show the savings would total about 30 cents for every item picked, packed and shipped. By 2033, Amazon expects to sell twice as many products while keeping its US headcount flat — eliminating the need for more than 600,000 potential hires.
At its most advanced facilities, Amazon aims to create near-fully automated warehouses. The robotics division’s ultimate goal is to automate 75% of operations, reshaping how the company handles fulfillment, delivery and inventory.
Executives told the board that the strategy will allow Amazon to maintain growth while controlling labor costs. In its 2025 plan, the robotics team says, “With this major milestone now in sight, we are confident in our ability to flatten Amazon’s hiring curve over the next 10 years.”
The company’s flagship warehouse in Shreveport, Louisiana, already employs a thousand robots and a quarter fewer workers than it would have without automation. Next year, the headcount there is expected to fall to roughly half of what it would be without robotics. The Shreveport design will be replicated at about 40 facilities by the end of 2027.
Internal records show Amazon executives are also preparing community-relations campaigns to soften the blow in regions likely to lose jobs. Plans include participating in parades, local charity events and avoiding terms such as “automation” or “A.I.” in public messaging — instead opting for “advanced technology” or “cobot,” suggesting collaboration between humans and machines.
Amazon says in a statement that the documents do not reflect its overall hiring strategy. Spokeswoman Kelly Nantel says the company still plans to hire 250,000 workers for the holiday season, though it did not specify how many roles will be permanent.
Last week, Frontier AI researcher Yu Lin said 300 million full-time jobs around the world are highly exposed to automation as artificial intelligence accelerates across industries.
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