Amazon refocuses on drone delivery strategy, union groups worry about potential wave of layoffs

Amazon (Amazon) recently released a series of new drones and robots, claiming that they will help the company "deliver the future." But industry experts warn that Amazon still needs to break through infrastructure and legal regulations before autonomous delivery and artificial intelligence-driven logistics become the norm. At the same time, Amazon also needs to pay attention to the wave of layoffs caused by the replacement of humans by machines.

As early as 2013, Amazon first announced its drone delivery plan, but the project progressed slowly and was only gradually launched in some locations in the United States, while other countries only conducted test flights.

Two years ago, Amazon laid off employees at its drone delivery unit, Prime Air, but now the company appears to have changed its mind and sees drone delivery and automation as the best solution to meet growing customer demand. The best way.

Its latest version of the drone, the MK30, features new custom-designed propellers that reduce noise by half and are lighter and smaller, making it safer to fly in urban areas. At the same time, its flight distance is twice that of the previous M27 model UAV, allowing it to reach farther locations.

In the United States, using drone delivery, customers can get their medicines within an hour after placing an order at Amazon Pharmacy. It is reported that the UK and Italy will become the first countries and regions where Amazon uses drones for delivery outside the United States, and will be fully integrated into Amazon's delivery network.

In addition, Amazon also launched a humanoid robot called Digit whose arms can grab items. Amazon said, “This is about freeing up human workers to better serve our customers.” Jobs, but using robotics and automation technology can create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, "This includes 700 new jobs, these are some skilled positions that did not exist before in the enterprise."

Amazon also said the use of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence vision technology can help improve the storage and distribution of goods inventory. After using this technology, the speed of receiving goods on site is 75% faster than without using this technology, which benefits employees' work and enables them to provide a better customer experience.

But labor unions do not agree with this statement. They believe that this will allow companies to reduce the number of employees and lower the treatment of other employees.

Stuart Richards, organizer of the British trade union GMB, said in an interview with the media that Amazon has treated their workers like robots for many years, and automation is part of the company's layoff plan. He believes there are already significant job losses and this will only intensify as automation increases.

Amazon said it has contracted with researchers from MIT and Ipsos to help assess the impact of automation technology on employee positions and as more automation becomes available How to take over repetitive tasks and support employees in their careers.

Tye Brady, Amazon’s head of robotics, said at a press conference that employees will always be part of Amazon’s delivery business and they are irreplaceable. When union groups worry that Amazon will use automated technology to replace humans, Brady said: "I don't think that will become a reality."

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