The great transition of working society.

ROBOTIC WAREHOUSE WORKERS

Amazon has now deployed more than one million robots in hundreds of fulfilment centres across the world, marking a significant milestone as the company approaches a point where robots could outnumber human workers on warehouse floors.

At present, Amazon’s workforce in shipping warehouses has remained largely flat, whilst robot numbers have continued rising.

The number of robots in Amazon’s warehouses has increased fivefold since 2020, when the company operated around 200,000 units.

Today, mechanical arms and ‘wheeled transporters’ now operate alongside human staff, with robots assisting in handling 75% of worldwide deliveries.

To power this, Amazon has introduced advanced robotics systems, including Sequoia, which “improves storage efficiency” and enables goods to be picked and packed up to 75% faster.

The company has also released a generative AI model, DeepFleet, to “coordinate robot movement and increase operational speed”.

Amazon have stated these technologies ‘reduce workplace injuries at robotic sites by 15% compared to non-robotic sites’, whilst ‘allowing human workers to transition into technical roles such as robot maintenance and monitoring’.

But the shift towards automation has already led to significant workforce changes.

The company has cut more than 27,000 jobs since early 2022, with recent redundancies affecting retail and device divisions.

Amazon maintains that automation ‘helps create jobs in new communities and improves both employee and customer experiences’.

But the question needs to be asked: Just how many opportunities are really being created for workers, compared to those that are being replaced at a rapid rate?

A recent study by the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that by 2030, up to 800 million workers worldwide could be displaced by automation.

Does this sound to you like jobs are being created to fill this mass replacement?

This trend raises questions about the future of employment, wages and labour policy, as large-scale logistics operations may soon require far fewer human workers.

As robots take on a greater share of warehouse tasks, there is growing pressure to rethink how societies prepare for a future where machines perform most work.

Australia, as always, seems to be very behind in preparation for this transition – leaving us vulnerable to some of the worst impacts that could arise in a few years.

AUSTRALIAN IMPACTS

The world is facing a unique scenario at present: Most workplaces across the world are either incrementally phasing out human staff for robots, or they will eventually.

Amazon says it has “upskilled” 700,000 staff in their transition, including across fields such as management, engineering and robotics – and ‘diverse careers’ such as nursing.

I am seriously doubtful of these numbers, and even if some of it is true, how many truck drivers or pick-packers are really able to seamlessly transition into an engineering role?

Amazon’s premier upskilling scheme here in Australia, Career Choice, has only had 50 people taking part in three years, raising concerns about how prepared our country is.

Australians are already losing work to AI, but the impact so far has been largely hidden from view – partly obscured by employers attributing AI-influenced cuts to a range of factors, while making little or no mention of AI in their rationale.

For example, 121 positions were recently made redundant by the ASX-listed Endeavour Group, which owns a number of retail brands such as Dan Murphy’s, BWS and Jimmy Brings.

Amazon, Myer, Coles and Woolworths are some of the major players that have already been on a mission to switch towards “automated workforces” in Australia.

Inside the Australian warehouses with robotic workers

One 2015 analysis from the Committee of Economic Development of Australia warned that more than five million jobs could disappear in the next 15 years because of technological advancements, and this was before applications like ChatGPT hit the marketplace.