The army of robots is approaching, and soon, Amazon's warehouses will no longer need workers

Amazon is rapidly approaching a significant milestone in warehouse automation— the number of robots is about to equal the number of human employees.

According to media reports on July 2, as the second-largest private employer in the United States, Amazon is quickly nearing a new phase of automation, where "the number of robots will soon match the number of human employees." By the 2030s, Amazon may see significant layoffs, while automation and artificial intelligence will drive productivity improvements.

Currently, about 75% of Amazon's packages are assisted by robotic systems during processing, which perform various tasks from picking, sorting, packaging to handling. This wave of automation has significantly impacted Amazon's hiring strategy.

The average number of employees per warehouse has dropped to its lowest level in 16 years, and the company plans to further reduce its overall workforce in the coming years. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated, "Artificial intelligence will be deeply integrated into fulfillment center operations to enhance inventory allocation, demand forecasting, and robot operational efficiency, and we expect this will reduce the overall number of employees in the company in the coming years."

Automation Drives Efficiency Surge, Moving Towards Full Robot Integration

The deep integration of robots and artificial intelligence is bringing remarkable productivity leaps to Amazon.

Data shows that the number of packages handled per Amazon employee has skyrocketed from 175 in 2015 to about 3,870 in recent months, clearly revealing the significant impact of automation on operational efficiency.

As the automation process accelerates, Amazon's employment strategy is undergoing a fundamental shift. The most obvious signal is the slowdown in hiring and the decrease in employee density at individual facilities.

In a memo, Jassy explicitly pointed out, "Although some new types of jobs will be created, the overall trend is that we expect this will reduce our total employee count in the coming years."

For Amazon employees pushing for unionization, this is undoubtedly a severe signal— their jobs are facing direct competition from robots. This trend of automation replacement is expected to continue accelerating throughout the 2030s.

Amazon's goals clearly extend beyond human-robot collaboration, moving towards more comprehensive automation. According to Rueben Scriven, research manager at the robotics consulting firm Interact Analysis, "With more advanced robotic systems like Vulcan being continuously deployed, Amazon is 'one step closer to achieving full integration of robotic technology.'"