CHENNAI: Amazon.com plans to replace more than 6,00,000 employees with robots over the next decade in the US, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing internal documents. The company is one of the largest employers in the US, with nearly 1.2 million hires.
Referring to interviews with staff and internal documents, the NYT reported that the company’s ultimate plan is to automate 75% of its operations and expects to increase sales by a factor of two by 2033 compared to now through automation.
Automation would help Amazon avoid hiring 1,60,000 employees by the end of 2027, resulting in savings of $12.5 billion over the next two years, the report said.
At the Amazon facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, which is built with automation in mind, a thousand robots already do much of the packing and shipping work, allowing Amazon to employ 25% fewer employees.
In 2026, the Louisiana facility would employ only half of the staff compared to what it would have without the deployment of robots. The operation of the Shreveport facility will be replicated in nearly 40 facilities by the end of 2027.
As for Amazon India, sources said there are no immediate plans to deploy robots in the country.