Amazon is well known for its drive to automate as many segments of its business as possible.

The American multinational technology company Amazon Inc. is reportedly planning to deploy machines to automate boxing up customer orders. The company has initiated to add the technology to a few warehouses in recent years to scan wares coming down a conveyor belt and pack them up in seconds in boxes custom-built for each item, cited reliable sources.

Reportedly, Amazon has considered installing 2 machines at dozens more warehouses, eliminating at least twenty-four roles at each one. Typically, 2,000 people are employed at these facilities.

The move will amount to over 1,300 job cuts around 55 fulfillment centers in the U.S. with a standard-sized inventory. Amazon anticipates that it will recover the cost of the machines in under 2 years, at $1 million per machine besides operational expenses, cited reliable sources.

Apparently, the plan underlines Amazon’s efforts to decrease labor costs and increase profits as automation of the most common warehouse task – picking up item – is still far from its grasp. The changes have not been finalized yet because vetting technology can take a long time before a major deployment.

Amazon is well known for its drive to automate as many segments of its business as possible, whether transporting items or pricing goods in its warehouses. But the company is apparently in a tricky situation as it contemplates the replacement of jobs that have won it public goodwill and subsidies.

An Amazon spokesperson has been reported to say that the company is rolling out the new technology with an aim of increasing safety, adding efficiency in its network and speeding up delivery times. It was added that the resultant efficiency savings is being planned to be reinvested in new customer services sectors which will continue to create jobs.

Amazon has grown its employee base to become one of the largest in the U.S. as it has opened new warehouses and increased wages to attract staff in a tight labor market.

Source credit: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-automation-exclusive/exclusive-amazon-rolls-out-machines-that-pack-orders-and-replace-jobs-idUSKCN1SJ0X1