Amazon reveals new cost-cutting robots, claims it ain’t taking jobs

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Amazon really wants you to know that its new army of robots isn’t here to steal jobs, it’s here to “help.” 

The company launched a PR charm offensive this week, unveiling a glossy showcase of its latest warehouse technology. 

This comes just hours after The New York Times published a less-than-flattering report about internal documents describing how automation could help Amazon sell more stuff without hiring more humans.

In a blog post positively glowing with optimism (and perhaps a whiff of spin), Amazon paraded 10 of its newest robots and AI systems currently working or being tested across its warehouses and delivery hubs. 

Among them is Blue Jay, a robotic arm system that the company says acts as “an extra set of hands” to help employees lift, sort, and stow products. 

According to Amazon, Blue Jay can handle 75 percent of the items the company stores and could soon become a “core technology” for its Same-Day delivery centers. 

Blue Jay is the new star employee who never calls in sick.

Then there’s Project Eluna, Amazon’s agentic AI system, basically a digital coworker that helps optimize sorting and reduce mental load for human employees. 

It’s all very Black Mirror meets The Office, though Amazon insists this is about empowering workers, not replacing them.

Amazon Robotics chief technologist Tye Brady even said the “real headline isn’t about robots, it’s about people,” which sounds suspiciously like something you’d say right before replacing people with robots. 

The company also reminded everyone that it’s hiring 250,000 people for the holidays and that “no company has created more US jobs in the last decade.”

Still, the vibes don’t quite match CEO Andy Jassy’s June letter to employees, which bluntly stated that Amazon will “need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today” thanks to AI and automation. 

The Times report echoes that, painting a picture of warehouses becoming more efficient and more robotic, with human workers increasingly tasked with managing the machines rather than moving the packages.

Amazon’s message: don’t worry, the robots are friendly, they’re just really, really good at your job.