Streamlining, AI, Robots Behind Another 121 Amazon Job Cuts in Washington State

Amazon has announced another 121 Washington State Job cuts, some related to AI and robots.

    The Cuts Will Be Effective October 1st.

Amazon has already gassed several thousand jobs in WA state, and more are coming, according to company Officials, as they increase reliance on AI.

The AI-related job cuts are mainly in fulfillment centers or warehouses, where robotic tools are being used to replace humans.

    Latest Cuts Spread Between Corporate Workers As Well

  Entry-level software engineers, applied scientists, a legal dept VP and senior software managers make up 49 cuts in Bellevue, others are in Seattle, and the rest at the Sumner, WA fulfillment center and warehouse.

Get our free mobile app

A memo sent to workers during previous layoffs said the cuts were to reduce bureaucracy, reduce layers, and increase ownership.

   How Many Robots Work in Amazon Fulfillment Centers?

At least 1 million automated machines are currently working in Amazon warehouses, compared to about 1.56 million humans.  The majority of the 'robots' are standard machines that have been automated using AI to perform their tasks without human control.

But, while they are not standard yet, and are still in somewhat of a research and development stage, the company is using humanoid robots for certain duties. These include the Digit humanoid, built by Agility Robotics, which have arms, legs, a torso and a head.

So far, these humanoid models are confined to repetitive tasks such as reclaiming and recycling empty tote carriers. Work continues on pushing more AI, by 2035 Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has said they hope to be 80 percent of fulfillment center tasks performed by robots.