Amazon: Layoffs are coming, and Robot will be replacing some employees.

Amazon.com is turning to machines to automate a task performed by thousands of employees: the process of packing the orders it receives from its customers.

Η The company has begun adding technology to some of its facilities in recent years, scanning products that move on a belt and then packing them in boxes that are specific to each of them, two people who worked told Reuters. in this program.

Amazon is considering installing two machines in dozens of other storage units, canceling at least 24 jobs in each of them, the sources said. These units usually employ more than 2.000 people.

Such a move would equate to more than 1.300 cuts at the 55 full-size packaging centers in the United States. Amazon expects to recoup the cost, which is $ 1 million per machine plus operating costs, in less than two years, sources said.

The plan, which was not previously known, shows how Amazon is trying to reduce labor costs and boost its profitability. The changes have not been finalized because it takes time to evaluate a technology before it is implemented on a large scale, according to the APE-MPE.

Amazon is looking to increase its efficiency

Amazon is known for its efforts to automate as many parts of its business as possible, whether they include product pricing or warehousing.

"We are applying this new technology to enhance security, reduce delivery times and increase efficiency across our network," an Amazon spokeswoman said in a statement. "We expect the money saved to be reinvested in new customer service, where new jobs will continue to be created."

The new machines, known as CartonWrap from the Italian company CMC Srl, pack faster than humans. Within an hour, they have prepared 600 to 700 boxes, that is, they pack at a rate four or five times faster than a human, the sources said. CMC declined to comment.

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