Amazon on verge of using more robots than people, saying it will make deliveries cheaper and faster

The tech giant has deployed its one millionth robot, promising faster deliveries and lower costs. But what does it mean for your job?

Amazon’s Proteus, an autonomous robot used to carry carts full of packages to delivery trucks.

Amazon is on the verge of employing as many machines as people across its warehouses, combining advanced robotics with artificial intelligence.

The e-commerce titan – which has grown from Jeff Bezos selling books online from his garage in the mid-1990s to a $US2.33 trillion ($3.55 trillion) juggernaut – has deployed its one millionth robot.

This compares to the company employing about 1.5 million people worldwide, and follows Elon Musk declaring there will be billions of humanoid robots – more than Earth’s population – in the next 20 years.

Amazon has also integrated a new generative AI foundation model into its machines it says will improve robot fleet travel efficiency by 10 per cent, allowing it to deliver packages more quickly and at lower cost.

That comes as the company has attracted criticism from Labor MPs who have accused the firm of undermining labour laws and employing tax avoidance tactics, while NSW senator Tony Sheldon says Amazon should be barred from receiving lucrative public contracts.

Amazon has been awarded a series of government contracts. AWS, Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary, has secured work with the Australian Taxation Office, CSIRO, Treasury and the Defence Department – including a $2bn agreement to develop and operate top-secret data centres in partnership with national security agencies.

Despite outrage from within Labor ranks, Anthony Albanese met with AWS chief executive Matt Garman last month in Seattle, where he witnessed a new $20bn funding pledge by the tech giant to help support the booming demand for artificial intelligence in Australia.

Mr Albanese welcomed Amazon’s investment in the country, saying it will help Australia become smarter.

“The investment will generate economic opportunity for Australians, including skilled jobs and infrastructure that can support complex AI and supercomputing applications,” Mr Albanese said while in Seattle.

Amazon president and CEO Andy Jassy says AI will eliminate the need for some corporate jobs.

Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said last month AI will also eliminate the need for certain white-collar jobs as the company looks to cut its workforce in coming years.

“As we roll out more generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,” Mr Jassy said. “It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce.”

But Amazon vice-president of robotics Scott Dresser said this week the company’s robots were designed to “work alongside” its human warehouse employees, not replace them, performing duties such as heavy lifting and repetitive tasks, allowing staff to pursue higher-skilled jobs.

Jeff Bezos is betting on a future centred on AI and robotics.

“Since 2019 we’ve helped upskill more than 700,000 employees through various training initiatives, many focused on working with advanced technologies,” Mr Dresser said. “In fact, at our next-generation fulfilment centre, launched late last year in Shreveport, Louisiana, advanced robotics require 30 per cent more employees in reliability, maintenance and engineering roles.”

DeepFleet – not to be confused with China’s DeepSeek – is the new AI foundation model Amazon has designed for its robots.

“This AI technology will co-ordinate the movement of robots across our fulfilment network, improving the travel time of our robotic fleet by 10 per cent and enabling us to deliver packages to customers faster and at lower costs,” Mr Dresser said.

“Think of DeepFleet as an intelligent traffic management system for a city filled with cars moving through congested streets. Just as a smart traffic system could reduce wait times and create better routes for drivers, DeepFleet coordinates our robots’ movements to optimise how they navigate our fulfilment centres. This means less congestion, more efficient paths and faster processing of customer orders.”

Robots in action at Amazon’s fulfilment centre at Kemps Creek, Sydney.

Mr Dresser said Amazon’s “rich and extensive data sets of inventory movement” also allowed it to store products closer to customers, making the company more efficient.

“And because it is built on AI that learns and improves over time, it will continue to find new ways to optimise how our robots work together,” he said.

“Rather than pursuing technology for its own sake, we’re focused on solving real problems. By reducing robot travel time by 10 per cent, we’re not just improving efficiency, we’re creating tangible benefits: faster delivery times, lower operational costs and reduced energy usage.

“This is how we’re making generative AI work in the real world, delivering concrete value for both employees and customers.”

Elon Musk is betting big on humanoid robots and automation, saying together they will catapult Tesla to being a $US25 trillion company. This compares with its current market value of $US995.38bn.

Tesla is designing robots to resemble people, unlike Amazon, which is deliberately making them look like machines – such as robotic vacuums or mechanical arms.

“We started in 2012 with a single type of robot that could move inventory shelves across warehouse floors. Today we operate a diverse fleet of robots, designed to make our employees’ jobs easier and safer, and our operations more efficient,” Mr Dresser said.

“Our Hercules robots can lift and move up to 1250 pounds (567kg) of inventory. Our Pegasus robots use precision conveyor belts to handle individual packages. And Proteus, our first fully autonomous mobile robot, can safely navigate around employees in open and unrestricted areas of our sites while moving heavy carts filled with customer orders.”

Originally published as Amazon on verge of using more robots than people, saying it will make deliveries cheaper and faster