Over the course of 2017 more than 75000 Amazon robots have been added to the Amazon fulfilment network.
It’s also worth noting that Amazon’s workforce has grown by 40% Since 2016. It is the eighth-largest private employer in the US at the start of 2017 and employee numbers continue to grow. And, don’t forget, Amazon intends to build a new HQ somewhere in North America and attract 50k employees to that facility. Amazon is growing. But you knew that.
But an interesting report from Quartz compares the growing number of Amazon robots, alongside the number of human Amazon employees, as well as in general to US employee trends. It looks like Amazon dominance could be having a downward affect on US retail jobs.
It’s impossible to say whether the increase in Amazon robots is the direct cause for the apparent decline in US retail employees. The plight of the HIgh Street and bricks and mortar retail in the Western World is well recorded and has many drivers.
But what is apparent from these findings is that when it comes to automation and robots, Amazon are very much committed to machine workers. Amazon has invested a great deal in means that automate their warehouses and will doubtless to explore the opportunities ever more keenly in the future.
Is it possible for any business to entirely automate its operations? Probably not. But if any company is moving resolutely in that direct, then it’s Amazon.
