Aussie Amazon workers lagging behind in re-training as tech giant continues global automation rollout

Australian workers at one of the world’s largest companies are missing out on crucial AI and robotics retraining.

Australia’s education system is bypassing the need for Amazon to formally train staff like in the US.

Globally, Amazon says it has “upskilled” 700,000 staff, across fields such as management, engineering and robotics, but into other diverse careers such as nursing.

However, uptake of Amazon’s premier upskilling scheme, Career Choice, has been slow in Australia, with only 50 people taking part in three years.

While Amazon has pledged massive investments in robotics and AI, Australian workers are lagging behind in their retraining, with only 50 staff going through an upskilling program in three years. Picture: NewsWire / Blair Jackson

Only one of Amazon Australia’s eight “fulfilment centre” warehouses have the company’s patented product-shifting, AI-operated robots; as Amazon accelerates its AI and robotics goals, the company argues relatively few job losses will result, contending people doing repetitive manual tasks will be retrained and “upskilled”.

Compared to Amazon’s warehouses in comparable countries, Australian facilities are a step behind the company’s newest technology, meaning retraining Australian workers to fix and maintain Amazon’s robots is lagging.

The slow uptake is because university is far cheaper in Australia than the US.

Pulling numbers from Amazon’s vast business arms was difficult for a spokesperson, but the spokeswoman was adamant thousands of Amazon Australia staff had undertaken management or robotics training in recent years.

Beneficiaries of various training are particularly centred at Kemps Creek in Sydney; Amazon’s highest-tech Australian warehouse.

Information from Amazon says the company has created 700 new categories of jobs globally since introducing robots.

A proposed highly-robotised Melbourne warehouse will create more than 2000 jobs, requiring entry-level workers up to engineers and operations managers.

Stacks of various products move around inside Amazon's Chiba Minato warehouse in Tokyo, driven by Amazon’s patented robots. Picture: NewsWire / Blair Jackson

“Australia is one of our last countries to have launched … we’re in the process of scaling-up the program.”

*Amazon paid for NewsWire’s travel and accommodation in Japan