E-commerce company Amazon is reportedly accelerating its automation plans, which could see the company cut more than half a million jobs in the United States.
As reported by The Verge, quoted in Jakarta on Thursday, this step is projected to replace more than 600,000 job positions by 2033, even though the company's sales volume is expected to double during that period.
Internal documents obtained by The New York Times show that Amazon's robotics team is targeting automation of 75 percent of the company's operations.
This plan is expected to eliminate the need for approximately 160,000 jobs in the United States by 2027, with potential savings of approximately 30 cents for every product processed and shipped to customers. Total efficiency gains from this automation effort are projected to reach US$12.6 billion over the period 2025–2027.
According to the report, Amazon is also preparing a public communications strategy to minimize the negative impact of this massive automation plan.
Companies are said to be considering avoiding terms like “automation” or “artificial intelligence (AI)” and replacing them with more neutral terms like “advanced technology” or “cobots,” which are robots that work alongside humans.
