Reference News Network July 4 report, according to the website of the U.S. "Wall Street Journal" on June 30, Amazon's automation process in its warehouses is approaching a new milestone: the number of robots is about to equal the number of human employees.

For years, Amazon has been working to automate tasks that were originally performed by humans in its warehouses. The e-commerce giant said it has deployed over 1 million robots in its warehouses. This figure is a record high in the company's history and is already close to the number of human employees in the warehouses.

In Amazon's warehouses, metal robotic arms pick up items from shelves, wheeled robots move around on the floor to transport goods for packaging, creating a bustling scene. In other areas, automated systems assist in sorting items, while other robots help with packaging and shipping.

A new robot called Vulcan has a sense of touch, allowing it to pick items from various shelves. Recently, Amazon has taken measures to connect robots with the order fulfillment process, enabling these machines to work together and also collaborate with human employees.

Amazon says that currently, about 75% of its global delivery operations have some level of robotic assistance. Increasing automation levels have helped Amazon improve production efficiency and also reduce the company's pressure, making it easier to address issues such as high employee turnover rates in logistics centers.

For some Amazon employees, increased automation means they no longer have to perform tedious and repetitive tasks such as moving, pulling, and sorting, and instead take on more technical roles such as managing machines.

Robots are also replacing some employees, which helps the company slow down its hiring pace. Amazon has approximately 1.56 million employees, most of whom work in warehouses.

An analysis by the "Wall Street Journal" compared the number of employees Amazon reported with the estimated number of its warehouses. The analysis found that the average number of employees per warehouse last year was about 670, the lowest in the past 16 years.

The analysis also found that since at least 2015, the number of packages delivered by Amazon itself has been steadily increasing, with the number of packages delivered per employee per year rising from about 175 to about 3,870, indicating an improvement in the company's productivity.

A spokesperson for Amazon said that some of the company's newer warehouses, such as facilities built for same-day delivery, have "fewer employees but help us deliver faster."

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently said that the company will also promote the use of artificial intelligence technology in its warehouses, "to improve inventory layout, demand forecasting, and robot efficiency." Amazon said it will cut the total number of employees in the coming years.

As the second-largest private employer in the United States, Amazon is leading the way among many companies in the U.S. that have implemented work automation. Its large-scale promotion of robots indicates that technological progress is accelerating, changing factory floors, and having widespread impacts on the labor market. (Translated by Zhu Jie)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7523213492661502516/

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