3 MIN READ
November 01, 2025
Haven’t heard the term “cobot” before? You’re not alone. Most of us haven’t. However, recent leaks about Amazon’s future hiring plans revealed a startling projection, but we shouldn't be totally surprised. By incorporating robots into their warehouses, Amazon anticipates hiring 600,000 fewer workers between now and 2033. With its current workforce of 1.2 million employees, Amazon is evolving from a net job creator to a net job destroyer at least in the short term, perhaps mid-term. Amazon is a beast. If they are making money, they will grow and that's good in the long run for American consumers and workers.
Amazon is already ramping up its PR efforts to address the backlash from these anticipated job losses. Part of their strategy involves substituting the term "robot" with "cobot," which is defined as a computer-controlled robotic device designed to assist a person. The goal is to humanize robots by emphasizing collaboration, reassuring us that humans still play a key role. Personally, I feel worse about the situation when I use the word "cobot." Many of these impacted roles are blue-collar warehouse positions, both permanent and seasonal.
Source: NYTimes,"Inside Amazon's Plan to to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots
But it’s not just blue-collar jobs at risk. White-collar jobs are also vulnerable to AI. This is not something for the future, this is today, happening now! Just this week, Amazon announced 14,000 white-collar layoffs. They’re not the only ones, and this is only the beginning. Beyond job cuts, fewer new jobs will be created. Every CEO and CTO is now asking: "Can AI handle that task?"
Increasingly, the answer is yes.
As is often the case, the U.S. is likely to overcorrect in replacing humans with AI before finding a good balance. It’s going to be a chaotic adjustment period before things stabilize.