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Amazon will soon have more robots than workers

At Amazon, the robots will soon outnumber the workers. The number of employees per site is already falling massively.

Due to increasing automation at Amazon, the company will soon have more robots than employees. As the Wall Street Journal reports, citing data from the online retailer, over one million robots are already in use. Amazon employs around 1.56 million people in total, most of them in its shipping warehouses.

The productivity of employees has increased massively as a result of robotics: according to calculations by Wall Street Journal Research, the number of parcels that Amazon ships per worker each year has risen from around 175 to 3,870 since 2015.

Around 75 percent of Amazon deliveries worldwide are supported in some way by robots, the company explained. The average number of employees per Amazon warehouse last year was around 670, the lowest in the past 16 years, according to the Wall Street Journal's analysis.

Robots communicate with each other

One of Amazon's newer Vulcan robots has a touch sensor system that enables the machine to pick items from shelves, which was previously done by workers.

Amazon recently began allowing its robots to communicate with each other. Amazon is introducing AI, CEO Andy Jassy said recently, "to improve inventory management, demand forecasting and the efficiency of our robots". The company, the second-largest private-sector employer in the US, also announced plans to reduce its workforce over the next few years.

Setters become robotics technicians

The company will be cutting more than 700,000 workers for better-paid jobs, including those controlling and supervising robots. Yesh Dattatreya, senior applied scientist at Amazon Robotics, is leading a newly formed Amazon team that is turning future warehouse robots into assistants that can respond to voice commands, such as to unload a trailer, he told the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon has also been testing humanoid robots since early 2024, manufacturer Agility Robotics said in a video report. However, Amazon stated that the use of humanoid robots is still in the research and development phase.

Agility Robotics is a private company and is not listed on a stock exchange. Therefore, there are no Agility Robotics shares that are publicly traded.

https://www.golem.de/news/e-commerce-amazon-hat-bald-mehr-roboter-als-arbeiter-2507-197659.html

12 Comments

Ph1l1pp@Ph1l1pp

And who is invested in humanoid robots? 🫣

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Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@Ph1l1pp
Indirectly now in some companies

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Heinrich@stock_strategist_86

@Tenbagger2024 in which?

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ThemenmitKopf@topicswithhead

@Ph1l1pp I doubt that these are meant. More likely 90% are normal robot arms and vacuum cleaner-like driving machines. Otherwise it would be pretty weird, because robots are not yet ready to completely replace humans.

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Ph1l1pp@Ph1l1pp

@topicswithhead That's right, Amazon mainly uses cobots (what you described). However, the costs for humanoid robots are drastically reduced and no infrastructure is required.

I'm very bullish on the future of humanoid robots, maybe I'll do a post on this in due course.

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ThemenmitKopf@topicswithhead

@Ph1l1pp me too, but there are no providers on the stock exchange. At least not in the relevant size and focus that I would like.

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Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@stock_strategist_86
$GFT $NVDA . $KIT $PNG

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Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@stock_strategist_86

$SHL $SIE

https://www.faps.fau.de/wma/wissenschaftliche-mitarbeitende-w-m-d-humanoide-roboter-fuer-die-produktion-in-kooperation-mit-siemens-healthineers/

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Ph1l1pp@Ph1l1pp

@topicswithhead Yes, there are, but only Nasdaq companies that you won't find on e.g. Trade Republic, but again on IBKR.

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Mo@BigMo

Thanks for the article 🙏

Here's a personal anecdote:
A good friend who has been with Amazon for 10+ years says that the working conditions are now abhorrent.

Staff cuts are taking place in all areas.
As it is more difficult to get rid of employees in Europe, people are "allegedly" (disclaimer) bullied and driven out.

This will not get any better for employees.

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Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@BigMo
Just sad. This should simply be reported much more. And perhaps there should be a call for a boycott. To indirectly call on companies to improve working conditions. We owe it to each other as a society. And it's an issue of humanity.
I also find it a difficult topic from an investor's point of view.

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Mo@BigMo

@Tenbagger2024 I basically agree with you.
The problem can probably be observed in many tech-heavy companies.

The aim of the "rausekel" strategy is for employees to resign of their own accord, thereby eliminating severance payments.
Inhumane...

The bitter reality is:
A large proportion of workers who have built up a core competence and career over a long period of time will sooner or later have to retrain in order to maintain their value.

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