Latest news with #ScottDresser
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Amazon's Robot Workforce Hits Ominous Milestone
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Amazon now has more than one million robots operating inside its warehouses, nearly equaling the number of human workers. Amazon's expanding fleet of robots includes: Hercules, a lifter capable of handling 1,250 pounds; Pegasus, which sorts packages on conveyor belts; and Proteus, the company's first fully autonomous robot able to operate directly alongside people. The robots are especially productive in same-day delivery hubs where fewer human workers are employed and speed is crucial. An Amazon logo is displayed outside an Amazon Delivery Station on April 25, 2025 in San Diego, California. An Amazon logo is displayed outside an Amazon Delivery Station on April 25, 2025 in San Diego, a new report, the Wall Street Journal wrote, "Robots are also supplanting some employees, helping the company to slow hiring. "Amazon employs about 1.56 million people overall, with the majority working in warehouses. "The average number of employees Amazon had per facility last year, roughly 670, was the lowest recorded in the past 16 years, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis, which compared the company's reported workforce with estimates of its facility count." As per TechRadar, Amazon has claimed that productivity in these high-tech facilities is roughly 25% faster than in traditional warehouses. Amazon's Robotics Solutions In a statement to Newsweek, an Amazon spokesperson said, "Our robotics solutions are designed to automate tasks in an effort to continue improving safety, reducing repetition, and freeing our employees up to deliver for customers in more skilled ways. "Since introducing robots within Amazon's operations, we've continued to hire hundreds of thousands of employees to work in our facilities and created many new job categories worldwide, including positions like flow control specialists, floor monitors, and reliability maintenance engineers." The Expansion of AI In a press release, Amazon's VP of Robotics Scott Dresser explained that a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) Model will help the company increase robot mobility by 10%. "Called DeepFleet, this AI technology will coordinate the movement of robots across our fulfillment network, improving the travel time of our robotic fleet by 10% and enabling us to deliver packages to customers faster and at lower costs," Dresser noted. "These robots work alongside our employees, handling heavy lifting and repetitive tasks while creating new opportunities for our front-line operators to develop technical skills. "I'm particularly proud that since 2019, we've helped upskill more than 700,000 employees through various training initiatives, many focused on working with advanced technologies." 'We will need fewer people' At the same time, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy offered a more direct message in a letter to employees, warning that the expansion of AI across the company will lead to a leaner corporate workforce. In the letter, cited by Newsweek, he wrote, "As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. "We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs." Critics Say Worker Cuts Are About Cost, Not Innovation Jassy's statement drew criticism from labor advocates and consultants who believe Amazon is prioritizing cost-cutting over employment. Speaking with Newsweek, Human Resources consultant Bryan Driscoll said, "The letter reads as a masterclass in spin. And this move isn't about leaner teams or working smarter. "It's about replacing human labor with machines - employees without the headache of dealing with humans, wages, benefits, and compliance." He added, "The company openly admits AI will reduce its total workforce but frames that as a net gain for customer experience - at least from those customers who can still afford to buy things. "What it actually means is that tens of thousands of people will lose their jobs not because they weren't performing, but because they can be replaced by a cheaper worker." Newsweek has contacted Amazon for comment via email. Newsweek's "What Should I Do?" offers expert advice to readers. If you have a personal dilemma, let us know via life@ We can ask experts for advice on relationships, family, friends, money and work, and your story could be featured on WSID at Newsweek. To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Amazon deploys its 1 millionth robot in a sign of more job automation
Amazon announced Monday its millionth worker robot, and said its entire fleet will be powered by a newly launched generative artificial intelligence model. The move comes at a time when more tech companies are cutting jobs and warning of automation. The million robot milestone — which joins Amazon's global network of more than 300 facilities — strengthens the company's position as the world's largest manufacturer and operator of mobile robotics, Scott Dresser, vice president of Amazon Robotics, said in a press release. Meanwhile, Dresser said that its new "DeepFleet" AI model will coordinate the movement of its robots within its fulfillment centers, reducing the travel time of the fleet by 10% and enabling faster and more cost-effective package deliveries. Amazon began deploying robots in its facilities in 2012 to move inventory shelves across warehouse floors, according to Dresser. Since then, their roles in factories have grown tremendously, ranging from those able to lift up to 1,250 pounds of inventory to fully autonomous robots that navigate factories with carts of customer orders. Meanwhile, AI-powered humanoid robots — designed to mimic human movement and shape — could be deployed this year at factories owned by Tesla. But although advancements in AI robotics like those working in Amazon facilities come with the promise of productivity gains, they have also raised concerns about mass job loss. A Pew Research survey published in March found that both AI experts and the general public see factory workers as one of the groups most at risk of losing their jobs because of AI. That's a concern Dresser appeared to attempt to address in his statements. "These robots work alongside our employees, handling heavy lifting and repetitive tasks while creating new opportunities for our front-line operators to develop technical skills," Dresser said. He added that Amazon's "next-generation fulfillment center" in Shreveport, Louisiana, which was launched late last year, required 30% more employees in reliability, maintenance, and engineering roles. However, the news of Amazon's robot expansion came soon after CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC that Amazon's rapid rollout of generative AI will result in "fewer people doing some of the jobs that the technology actually starts to automate." Jassy said that even as AI eliminates jobs in certain areas, Amazon will continue to hire more employees in AI, robotics and elsewhere. But in a memo to employees earlier in June, the CEO had admitted that he expects the company's workforce to shrink in the coming years in light of technological advancements. The decline may have already begun. CNBC reported that Amazon cut more than 27,000 jobs in 2022 and 2023, and had continued to make more targeted cuts across business units. Other big tech CEOs such as Shopify's CEO Tobi Lutke also recently warned of the impact that AI will have on staffing. That comes as a vast array of firms investing in and adopting AI execute rounds of layoffs. According to which tracks technology industry layoffs, 551 companies laid off roughly 153,000 employees last year. And a World Economic Forum report in February found that 48% of U.S. employers plan to reduce their workforce due to AI.
Digital Trends
3 days ago
- Business
- Digital Trends
The robot takeover comes another step closer — at Amazon
Amazon is close to having more robots operating inside its warehouses than humans after the e-commerce giant announced this week that it now has more than a million robots working at its facilities around the world. Over the years, Amazon has spent billions of dollars on the development and deployment of warehouse-based robots, which handle an array of tasks once performed by human workers. Recommended Videos An estimated 1.1 million humans work at Amazon warehouses globally, suggesting it won't be long before they're outnumbered by robots. 'We've just deployed our one millionth robot, building on our position as the world's largest manufacturer and operator of mobile robotics,' Scott Dresser, vice president of Amazon Robotics, said in a blog post this week. Dresser added that it's also introducing a new generative AI technology designed to make its fleet of robots smarter and more efficient. The announcement follows Amazon's unveiling in May of its new Vulcan robot, which looks like a game changer due to its ability to pick items and place them onto movable shelves. Vulcan, which is in the early stages of rollout, can operate for up to 20 hours a day, while its stowing speed is said to be a little quicker than the average human. Amazon has always said that its robots complement the warehouse-based human workforce, with the machines performing repetitive, physically demanding and potentially hazardous tasks. But many observers believe that the company is aiming to fully automate its warehouses, a viewpoint that gained momentum just recently when a report by Business Insider disclosed an internal document stating that robots like the new Vulcan machine are 'critical to flattening Amazon's hiring curve over the next ten years.' The company has already admitted that advanced technologies such as AI will mean a reduced corporate workforce, with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy telling employees in a memo last month that that the company's corporate workforce will shrink in the coming years as it deploys more AI in its operations. It's clear that robotics and AI are rapidly reshaping how work gets done in warehouses and beyond, with Amazon's push toward automation indicative of a much broader shift across the industry as companies everywhere embrace new technologies for more efficient operations. As for Amazon's warehouse workers, adapting to new roles alongside robots is becoming the new normal.
