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UFCW Statement on Amazon Replacing Workers with Robots

May 14, 2019 Updated: August 24, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) President Marc Perrone released the following statement in response to a new report that Amazon is rolling out machines to automate the boxing of customer orders, a job held by thousands of its workers:

“Jeff Bezos’s vision for our economy is focused on driving up profits at any cost by replacing talented employees with automation. While Amazon is raking in billions in tax cuts from cities desperate for new jobs, the company is ruthlessly working to eliminate the jobs of thousands of its current employees.

“This comes as Amazon announced it is offering to pay its workers $10,000 to quit their jobs rather than using that money to make Amazon jobs good jobs to begin with. It’s clear that Jeff Bezos cares more about the bottom line than investing in the hardworking employees who made Amazon a success in the first place. This is shameful.

“Our nation’s leaders need to wake up and realize that left unchecked, Amazon’s predatory business model will only continue to wipe out thousands of jobs that have powered our economy for decades. Our families and communities deserve better than this.”

BACKGROUND:

As reported by Reuters, Amazon started adding technology to a handful of warehouses in recent years, which scans goods coming down a conveyor belt and envelops them seconds later in boxes custom-built for each item. The plan shows how Amazon is pushing to boost profits at the expense of its own workers.

  • Amazon has considered installing two machines at dozens more warehouses, removing at least 24 roles at each one, these people said.
  • These facilities typically employ more than 2,000 people.
  • Resulting in more than 1,300 cuts across 55 U.S. fulfillment centers for standard-sized inventory.
  • Amazon would expect to recover the costs in under two years, at $1 million per machine plus operational expenses, they said.

This report comes as Amazon announced they are offering up to $10,000 for current Amazon employees in warehouses and other facilities to quit their jobs so that they can start delivering packages for the company instead.

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The UFCW is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.3 million professionals and their families in grocery stores, meatpacking, food processing, retail shops and other industries. 

Our members help put food on our nation’s tables and serve customers in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Learn more about the UFCW at www.ufcw.org

 

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