Amazon has significantly expanded its fleet of robots in recent years to enhance its warehouse operations, doubling the number from 350,000 in 2021 to 750,000 by June last year.

The company, claiming to be the world’s largest industrial robot manufacturer, has deployed a variety of robots with unique names like Robin, Sparrow, Proteus, Hercules, and Sequoia, each serving specific functions in sorting, moving, and handling inventory.

These robots, developed and manufactured at Amazon’s Robotics Innovation Hub near Boston, have proven to increase efficiency and reduce strain on employees.

For instance, the Sequoia robotic system has accelerated inventory identification and storage by 75% and reduced order processing time by up to 25%.

Despite concerns about job displacement, Amazon insists that robots complement and elevate employee productivity rather than replace them, Business Insider has reported.

According to Amazon’s director of global robotics, robots and technology have created over 700 new job categories in recent years by streamlining tasks, reducing repetitive motions, and aiding in heavy lifting.

Despite its considerable robot fleet, Amazon’s workforce remains significantly larger, with 1.525 million full-time and part-time employees as of last year.

However, the company has been reducing jobs in its cloud division, Amazon Web Services.

Amazon emphasizes that robots and technology aim to support and enhance employee performance rather than replace them entirely.

Written by B.C. Begley