500,000 jobs at risk: Amazon will now employ robots, and has also made preparations to avoid any uproar!

E-commerce giant Amazon is preparing to implement large-scale automation in its warehouse operations in the coming years. According to a report, internal company documents reveal that Amazon aims to automate approximately 75% of its total operations, significantly reducing its reliance on a human workforce. The report claims that this move could prevent more than 500,000 new hires in the coming years, saving the company approximately 30 cents (about 25 rupees) per package.

The New York Times reports that the long-term goal of Amazon’s robotics team is to create warehouses that require minimal human labor. According to internal estimates, the company may postpone hiring 160,000 employees in the US by 2027, while this number could reach 500,000 by 2033. Interestingly, Amazon expects its product sales to double during this period, but the number of human employees will decrease. Currently, the company employs approximately 1.2 million people.

The report also revealed that Amazon is strategizing to anticipate potential criticism surrounding these changes. Discussions within the company have suggested avoiding terms like “automation” or “artificial intelligence” in public narratives and instead referring to “advanced technology.” Similarly, the term “cobots” (collaborative robots) should be used instead of “robots” to show that technology is working in collaboration with humans, not replacing them.

According to the report, Amazon is also working to present its corporate image as a “good corporate citizen.” To this end, the company is planning to increase its participation in community activities and local events to soften the impact of job losses due to automation.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told the New York Times that the documents cited in the report represent the vision of an internal group within the company, not the policy of the entire company. She also stated that Amazon plans to hire 250,000 new employees for this holiday season, although it was not clarified whether these hires would be contractual or permanent.

It’s worth noting that Amazon’s big bet on automation is not new. In 2012, the company acquired a robotics company called Kiva Systems for $775 million, its first major tech automation deal. Last year, the company launched its most advanced warehouse, where approximately 1,000 robots can process a package with almost no human intervention.