Amazon Automation May Mean 600K Fewer Jobs

New York Times reports the company thinks it can avoid that number of hires by 2033
Posted Oct 21, 2025 1:36 PM CDT
Amazon Automation May Mean 600K Fewer Jobs
Boxes sit on a conveyor belt at an Amazon storage warehouse in Tepotzotlan, Mexico, Thursday, May 22, 2025.   (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Amazon is leaning hard into automating its operations, so much so that the New York Times reports an eye-popping number: The stepped-up automation means the company will be able to avoid hiring 600,000 actual humans by 2033. Even by 2027, the figure is 160,000. Amazon currently employs about 1.2 million as the nation's second-largest employer. The story, based on interviews and internal documents obtained by the newspaper, makes clear that Amazon fully expects its rapid business growth to continue—it just won't need as many humans to make it so.

Amazon says the documents cited don't present a full picture of the company's hiring strategy "now or moving forward," a spokesperson tells the Verge. "Thousands of documents circulate throughout the company at any given time, each with varying degrees of accuracy and timeliness." Still, the Times story suggests the company is so sure of the increased automation—and resulting backlash—that it's developing strategies to soften the impact on communities.

Internal memos suggest Amazon aims to boost its image as a "good corporate citizen" through community engagement and careful language—avoiding terms like "automation" or "AI" in favor of "advanced technology" or "cobots," meant to invoke partnership rather than replacement. The ultimate goal is to automate 75% of the company's operations, per the Times.

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