Amazon has denied many of the leaked report’s details.
Amazon warehouse jobs may become scarce within the decade as the e-commerce giant has plans to automate its operations.
Upon the news leaking, an Amazon spokesperson denied that the plan was to reduce the need for human workers.
“Leaked documents often paint an incomplete and misleading picture of our plans, and that’s the case here,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told The New York Post. “In this instance, the materials appear to reflect the perspective of just one team and don’t represent our overall hiring strategy across our various operations business lines – now or moving forward.”
The looming threat of the reduction in warehouse jobs has already alarmed communities that depend on it. The Times reported that Amazon workers in the U.S. are three times more likely to identify as Black. California also has the most Amazon jobs, with the largest fulfillment center based in Ontario, per Damotech.
The leak also showed Amazon’s plans to mitigate backlash by increasing its initiatives for corporate responsibility. It also introduced terms such as “co-bot,” in lieu of terms like “AI” and “automation,” to suggest the work will aid human workers. A spokesperson also denied the validity of this.
Another concern lies in other major corporations following suit to curb expenses. Amazon has tried to suggest the job curation will come with automation. On the other hand, others view the matter as an inevitable disruptor of the job market.
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Source: Black Enterprise
