Amazon Plans Major Automation Push to Replace Over 500,000 U.S. Jobs, NYT Reports
Amazon is reportedly planning a large-scale automation expansion that could eliminate the need to hire more than half a million workers in the United States over the next few years, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
According to internal documents and interviews reviewed by the newspaper, Amazon’s robotics division intends to automate roughly three-quarters of its operations. The plan could help the e-commerce giant avoid hiring around 160,000 new workers by 2027, saving an estimated $12.6 billion between 2025 and 2027.
The company projects it will double its product sales by 2033 without proportional workforce growth. Amazon argues that automation will reduce repetitive tasks for employees and generate new technical roles in robot maintenance and engineering.
The report also noted that Amazon is carefully managing its public messaging, preferring phrases like “advanced technology” and “cobot” instead of “robots” or “automation” to mitigate potential backlash.
Amazon, however, disputed the report, saying the documents were incomplete and did not accurately represent its overall hiring strategy. Company spokesperson Kelly Nantel stated that Amazon plans to hire 250,000 workers for the upcoming holiday season, though she did not specify how many of those positions would be permanent.
