David Vance SubstackRead More
I don’t think the public fully appreciates the impact AI will have on the jobs market. We are still in the relatively early phase of all of this but the signs are there. I had lunch with an old friend of mine who got into computer software in the late 1970’s and we both agreed that these days you would do better to learn a trade like plumbing!
But here’s an example of what does lie in store!
A leaked internal memo from Amazon outlines an aggressive strategy to replace human workers with robots across large parts of the company’s U.S. operations. The memo allegedly details plans to cut 600,000 future positions by deploying advanced robotics and AI-driven systems designed to squeeze an additional 30 cents of profit from every item of revenue generated. Amazon’s current automation drive targets 75% of its operations and projects the elimination of 160,000 roles by next year, with deeper cuts to follow by 2027.
If Amazon moves so decisively toward automation, many other corporations may soon follow. The trickle of jobs losses will become a tsunami.
Now whilst Amazon has not officially confirmed the specific job-loss figures the claims tap into long‑standing anxieties about warehouse workers, delivery drivers and other frontline staff being gradually displaced by machines. Economists have repeatedly warned that gains from automation will mean many workers face job losses, wage stagnation or pressure to accept more precarious roles in the gig economy.
I know that supporters of AI and robotics argue that automation will eventually create new categories of employment, from robot maintenance to AI oversight and software development. Maybe that will happen along the way but it is still a seismic shift! The scenario described in the alleged Amazon memo underscores how the immediate impact can be starkly negative for existing workers, especially in logistics and retail.
With tens or even hundreds of thousands of roles on the line, the debate over whether AI is a net job creator or a net job destroyer is no longer that theoretical—it is playing out in real time on the warehouse floor.
