Amazon SHOCK: Retailer begins replacing humans with MACHINES to pack orders

The world’s largest online retailer company is said to be rolling out machines to take over the packing of customer orders, a job currently held by thousands of Amazon employees. Amazon has been using the new technology to scan goods coming down a conveyor belt before enveloping them seconds later in boxes custom-built for each item, two people who worked on the project told Reuters. The machines have been unleashed on a handful of warehouses in recent years, but Amazon are said to be considered installing more at dozens more locations. This would remove at least 24 roles at each one and could add up to 1,300 cuts across 55 fulfilment centres across the US, the report claimed.

Amazon would expect to recover the costs of the machines in under two years, with each piece of technology costing $1 million plus operational expenses, the sources said.

An Amazon spokeswoman said in a statement: “We are piloting this new technology with the goal of increasing safety, speeding up delivery times and adding efficiency across our network.

“We expect the efficiency savings will be re-invested in new services for customers, where new jobs will continue to be created.”

The new machines, known as the CartonWrap from Italian firm CMC Srl, crank out 600 to 700 boxes per hour, or four to five times the rate of a human packer.

The machines require one person to load customer orders, another to stock cardboard and glue and a technician to fix jams on occasion.

CMC declined to comment.

Amazon packers currently deal with multiple orders per minute over a 10-hour stint.

Rather than lay off workers, the source suggested Amazon will one day stop refilling packing roles.

At the same time, employees that stay with the company can be trained to take up more technical roles, it was claimed.

Amazon last month downplayed its desire to be fuelled by machine power, saying a fully robotic future was far off.

Though the company has announced it intends to speed up shipping across its Prime loyalty program, this latest round of automation is not focused on speed.

One of the sources said: “It’s truly about efficiency and savings.”

The changes are not believed to have been finalised.

source: express.co.uk