Amazon is beginning to use machines to box up customer orders. Will thousands of human workers who currently do this work soon be out of a job?
The CartonWrap technology, reports Reuters, can pack up to 700 boxes per hour, which is five times the rate of a human packer. Amazon is considering installing two such machines at dozens of warehouses around the world. Unfortunately, each CartonWrap installation can eliminate 24 jobs: that’s about 1,300 cuts across 55 fulfillment centers in the U.S. alone.
As Amazon rapidly opened warehouses across the nation to deliver goods more quickly, it became a major employer. But now, the company wants to increase safety, speed delivery times, and add efficiency. And, undeniably, it’s also looking to boost profits by automating as many parts of its business as possible.
Amazon hopes to invest these efficiency savings in new services for customers, which may create new jobs. But, as one of the nation’s biggest employers, Amazon has begin aiming for a leaner workforce via attrition. In other words, the company will not lay off its packing workers – it just won’t replace them when they leave.
Should an employer be responsible to offer technology training to workers replaced by automation?