Global commerce giant Amazon positioned its one-millionth robot at a fulfillment center in Japan recently. The company is the world’s largest manufacturer and operator of mobile robots.

Amazon Vice President of Robotics Scott Dresser wrote in a release that since using a single model of robot in 2012, the retailer now uses multiple types of robots to handle repetitive tasks and heavy lifting. 

Around 75% of Amazon’s deliveries worldwide are aided by the company’s robots, it told The Wall Street Journal. 

The average number of employees at each Amazon facility has declined, from a peak of 1,000 in 2020 to 670 in 2024, the lowest average in 16 years, reported the Journal.

Meanwhile, the number of packages shipped per Amazon employee per year has skyrocketed the past decade, from 175 in 2015 to 3,870 in 2024.

“Like with every technical transformation, there will be fewer people doing some of the jobs that the technology actually starts to automate. But there’s going to be other jobs,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC.

Mr. Dresser said that around 700,000 Amazon workers have been taught technical skills through training programs since 2019.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.