According to this The New York Times article, Amazon is preparing to dramatically increase automation across its U.S. fulfillment operations. The retailer plans to avoid hiring approximately 160,000 workers by 2027 and up to 600,000 jobs by 2033. The automation drive aligns with a target of automating roughly 75% of the company’s operational workflows.
Already, Amazon’s warehouse network hosts over a million robots while employing around 1.5 million human workers, highlighting how robots now walk side-by-side with people in supply-chain roles. The documents reveal that automation is not just about cost-cutting: the company anticipates improved speed, lowered error rates, and lower per-unit handling cost (saving an estimated 30 cents per item by 2027).
The shift raises significant labor and societal issues. Nobel-winning economist Daron Acemoglu warns that if Amazon succeeds in scaling this automation profitably, “one of the biggest employers in the United States could become a net job destroyer rather than a job creator.” On the corporate side, Amazon disputes some conclusions, stating that the leaked strategy documents don’t reflect its full hiring posture.
For engineers and supply-chain professionals, the implications are tangible: robotics, AI-enabled picking systems, and end-to-end automation are no longer edge projects but foundational to large-scale logistics. The challenge now lies in creating workplaces where humans, robots and software interact safely, productively, and adaptively, while workforce strategy and societal impact are carefully managed.