Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

Amazon Accelerates Robotics Integration: Over 750,000 Bots Boost Supply Chain Efficiency

Amazon Accelerates Robotics Integration: Over 750,000 Bots Boost Supply Chain Efficiency

Amazon.com Inc. is ramping up its utilization of robotics, with a staggering deployment of over 750,000 robots alongside its workforce. The tech giant, currently the world’s second-largest private employer with 1.5 million employees, has seen a decline in its workforce by over 100,000 since 2021 when it had 1.6 million workers. This significant increase in robots marks a notable shift, with 520,000 robots in 2022 and 200,000 in 2019. The new robots, such as Sequoia and Digit, are tailored to handle repetitive tasks, aiming to boost efficiency, safety, and delivery speed for Amazon’s clientele. Sequoia streamlines inventory management and […]

How Chicago, Illinois can prepare so workers don’t become obsolete

How Chicago, Illinois can prepare so workers don’t become obsolete

Jobs are the best way to escape poverty, but the workplace will continue to change rapidly. To ensure Illinoisans don’t lose the jobs that lift them up, job skills will need to evolve along with education.

The best way for someone to rise out of poverty is work. The poverty rate for full-time workers is under 2% nationally compared to an overall poverty rate of 11.5% for the general population.

Work is changing rapidly because of innovation, technological developments, automation, artificial intelligence and remote work. These developments displace many low-skill workers and lead to an expanding skills gap. If we […]

Robots coming to Walmart warehouses

Robots coming to Walmart warehouses

Automation improves workplace safety, makes job easier for associates, says company Walmart Canada will soon have robots working at its warehouses in Ontario, according to a report.

The multinational retail corporation is introducing material handling robotics and automation technologies that, it says, will keep “operations bustling” and improve ergonomics for associates.

This comes after the employer piloted its automated receiving solution at their Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) in Calgary in Alberta back in March."We’re super excited about what we’ve done in Calgary and we’re super excited to scale that and get it into our other sites," said Matt Kelly, Walmart Canada’s […]

Amazon, Microsoft, and Other Tech Stocks in Focus Today

Technology stocks are holding steady after taking a knock earlier this week.

Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1% in early trading, following a 1.7% gain in the previous session. The index dropped on Wednesday, when hot inflation data lowered the chances of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts coming soon. Lower interest rates tend to boost tech stocks, and the prospect of rates staying higher tends to hurt them.

Here’s… An Amazon executive said it’s not true that robots steal humans’ jobs. Dreamstime Technology stocks are holding steady after taking a knock earlier this week.Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped […]

Navigating the AI Revolution: Tina Huang’s Insights on Job Displacement and Adaptation

Navigating the AI Revolution: Tina Huang’s Insights on Job Displacement and Adaptation

Written by Staff

In a frightening talk on the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for the workforce, Tina Huang, a Data Scientist and popular YouTuber, focused a recent video on the evolving relationship between automation and employment. Drawing from her extensive expertise in the field, Huang embarked on a comprehensive analysis, dissecting the nuances of AI-driven disruption and illuminating pathways for adaptation in an era of technological upheaval.

Addressing her audience captivated by the promise and peril of AI, Huang began by contextualizing the prevailing anxieties surrounding job displacement in the face of automation. “The specter of AI-induced job loss […]

Top Amazon exec says it’s a ‘myth’ robots steal jobs

Top Amazon exec says it's a ‘myth' robots steal jobs

A robot prepares to pick up a tote containing product at the Amazon Robotics fulfillment center on April 12, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. Stefano La Rovere, director of global robotics, mechatronics, and sustainable packaging at Amazon, said that rather than replacing jobs, robotics and other technologies are enhancing people’s roles.

"It is a myth that technology and robots take out jobs," La Rovere told CNBC’s "Street Signs Europe" Thursday.

Amazon says introduction of new technologies has enhanced more than 50,000 jobs across its fulfillment centers in Europe. A top Amazon executive told CNBC Thursday that it’s a "myth" that […]

Outsourcing founder explains why a Manhattan restaurant uses a staffing firm in the Philippines that pays cashiers a few dollars an hour: ‘The cost is admittedly cheaper than the U.S.’

Outsourcing founder explains why a Manhattan restaurant uses a staffing firm in the Philippines that pays cashiers a few dollars an hour: ‘The cost is admittedly cheaper than the U.S.’

Fast-food chains have increasingly relied on automation to save on labor costs. Trying hard to stay afloat in a restaurant industry spending 36% of its cash on labor and with minimum wage creeping to $16, a cadre of local New York City chains have found a shrewd way to save: enlisting the help of cashiers video calling in from the Philippines and paying them way less.

At Sansan Chicken , a fried-chicken joint in the East Village and Long Island City, cashiers on a large screen greet customers and answer questions they may have about the menu or their self-service […]

Amazon Grows To Over 750,000 Robots As World’s Second-Largest Private Employer Replaces Over 100,000 Humans

Amazon Grows To Over 750,000 Robots As World's Second-Largest Private Employer Replaces Over 100,000 Humans

Amazon.com Inc. is rapidly advancing its use of robotics, deploying over 750,000 robots to work alongside its employees.

The world’s second-largest private employer employs 1.5 million people. While that’s a lot, it’s a decrease of over 100,000 employees from the 1.6 million workers it had in 2021. Meanwhile, the company had 520,000 robots in 2022 and 200,000 robots in 2019. While Amazon is bringing on hundreds of thousands of robots per year, the company is slowly decreasing its employee numbers.

The robots, including new models like Sequoia and Digit, are designed to perform repetitive tasks, thereby improving efficiency, safety and delivery […]

How Walmart Warehouse Employees Work Hand In Hand With Automation

How Walmart Warehouse Employees Work Hand In Hand With Automation

Associates at four of Walmart’s high-tech distribution centers can now utilize autonomous forklifts to more effectively move products. Walmart ’s first high-tech distribution center, located in Brooksville, Fla., has been testing and pioneering new technologies for the company for many years. Distribution center 6020 was most recently the testing ground for a new autonomous forklift system that promises to improve associate skills and better their jobs while also building the retailer’s business.

Following a 16-month proof of concept with the machines, which were developed by Fox Robotics, Walmart will now introduce 19 of the autonomous forklifts across four of its […]

Amazon Accelerates Automation: Implications and Strategies

Amazon Accelerates Automation: Implications and Strategies

New Project 2024 04 11t210900.364 Rapid Robotics Deployment: Amazon.com Inc. is significantly expanding its use of robotics, deploying more than 750,000 robots to complement its workforce. This marks a notable increase from 520,000 robots in 2022 and 200,000 in 2019. While the company remains the world’s second-largest private employer with 1.5 million employees, there has been a decrease from 1.6 million in 2021. Enhanced Efficiency and Safety: New robot models like Sequoia and Digit are designed to perform repetitive tasks, enhancing efficiency, safety, and delivery speed for Amazon’s customers. Sequoia improves inventory management and order processing in fulfillment centers, […]