Amazon has put a large number of additional robots to work in its warehouses over the past year. According to the Seattle Times, there are now 45,000 robots driving around Amazon's 20 fulfilment centres.
That is a 50 per cent increase from 2015, when there were 30,000 robots working along with 230,000 employees. It is unclear how many 'real' employees Amazon deployed last year. What is clear is that the number of robots has increased by 15,000 annually since 2013. Warehouses are filled not only with the well-known orange Kiva robot that helps pick orders, but also with robot arms that can move large stock on pallets.
Due to the large number of orders Amazon has to process, the online shopping giant is forced to use robots. "They simply work faster than people," said Dave Clark, senior vice president at Amazon. Earlier, Amazon indicated that the robots would not pose a threat to staff in its distribution centres. The robots would only take over the walking and lugging work of humans and would not be able to pack items individually for now. "It actually makes the work of our staff easier. The robot brings the items to them, while another computer tells them which items to pack. The robot then drives away," vice president Mike Roth said about this earlier. The arrival of robots would not make work any more boring either, Roth promised. "The staff actually like the interaction with the robots. It's the perfect collaboration."
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