The company would save 30 cents per product that it processes and ships.
Amazon plans to replace hundreds of thousand of jobs with robot workers. According toThe New York Times.
Citing documents and interviews, the publication reports Amazon hopes to have robots take over more than 600,000.00 U.S. jobs by 2033. The New York Timesnote that this would result in savings of approximately 30 cents per item that Amazon picks up, packs and delivers.
Amazon is also reportedly looking to automate 75 percent its operations. These automation plans could allegedly save Amazon up to US$12.6 billion between 2025 and 2030 (about C$17.6billion). As noted by the New York Times this is in addition to Amazon’s aggressive cost cutting plans, which were initiated by Andy Jassy when he became CEO of Amazon after Jeff Bezos.
Amazon is aware that such automation plans will be controversial, especially with the rising cost of living. The New York Timesreported that Amazon was actually considering ways to boost its image as a ‘good corporate citizen’ in response to the inevitable criticism. This includes increased participation with charitable community projects, and using vague words like “advanced tech” and “cobot”to suggest that robots work along people instead of replacing them.TheNOW reached out to the company for comment and they claimed that the leaked documents are incomplete and do not represent their broader hiring strategies. The spokesperson said that the company plans to hire 250,000 workers this holiday season, but did not confirm how many would be permanent or seasonal.
This is a very alarming report that confirms long-held fears about automation replacing jobs in mass. While this is only for the U.S. at this time, it’s not hard to imagine how it could spread to other countries like Canada, whether directly by Amazon or indirectly by influencing other companies. Amazon has already stopped operations in Quebec following the unionization of warehouse workers. The New York Timesinterviewed an expert in its featurewho summarized the situation quite well. Daron Acemoglu, MIT professor and Nobel Prize-winner, said that once they figure out how to do it profitably, the idea will spread to other companies. According to Acemoglu, if these plans were to come true, Amazon would be a “net destroyer of jobs”.
The New York Times.
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