Post AzT7BnOmzW2tScoCNk by davidho@mastodon.world
 (DIR) More posts by davidho@mastodon.world
 (DIR) Post #AzT7BnOmzW2tScoCNk by davidho@mastodon.world
       2025-10-21T16:40:29Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Starting with people who keep AWS up and running?https://www.theverge.com/news/803257/amazon-robotics-automation-replace-600000-human-jobs
       
 (DIR) Post #AzT7BoKDXzz0Kjg3tY by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-10-22T13:28:01Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       @davidho “leaked” is anyone buying this? Seems like a self-serving rumor from a company that isn’t ready to go on record about plans for futuristic automation (wise as I don’t know if *any* recent developments in robotics or automation that would make this any more likely to happen now than ever) they know investors see a large workforce as a kind of liability and so they spread a rumor. (also they may hope it will scare the nacent trade union they have been developing)
       
 (DIR) Post #AzT7P2Vw6WaQ6XT00O by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-10-22T13:30:27Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @davidho Basically why is this a rumor? Why not brag about it? Automation is amazing when it finds the right applications. I do not doubt they are looking for ways to automate. But this idea that they are on the verge of replacing thousands of jobs but want to keep it a secret is very very silly.
       
 (DIR) Post #AzT8paDJX3ki6ayeBM by Azuaron@cyberpunk.lol
       2025-10-22T13:46:20Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @futurebird @davidho I don't know how official (or not) these statements were, but I do know that Amazon is probably at the forefront of funding and R&D for warehouse automation. Apparently they've deployed almost a million robots to their warehouses already--which, to be clear, did not replace a million jobs, but it certainly replaced more than a couple.I also know--and I know that Amazon knows--that they are literally going to run out of warehouse workers. The job is so grueling and underpaid that attrition is through the roof and in 2021 they were expecting to run out of workers by 2024. The bad economy has apparently stretched that out, but it is an ever-present threat and they really hate the obvious solutions of "paying people more" or, even worse, unions.Given those two realities, I think "hopes" is definitely the right word. I would even guess that the original context of these "hopes" were from middle managers making promises to upper management that they may not be able to cash.But, replacing on average 75,000 jobs per year for 8 years, out of the ~1 million positions they currently have (and growing)? I can't say that's impossible. If they make it happen, this is the kind of thing that's going to look like an "overnight success (but it took 20 years)".