Amazon will have more robots than human employees by 2030, stock picker says

By the year 2030, the stock picker Cathie Wood predicted that Amazon will have more robot employees than human employees.

Ark Invest CEO told CNBC Wednesday that Amazon is adding a thousand robots a day.

If you compare the number of robots Amazon has to the number of employees, it is about a third. We believe that by the year 2030, Amazon will have more robots than employees. Wood said that the world is at the dawn of the robotics age, with innovations such as artificial intelligence and battery technology also contributing to the developments. She believes that innovations will expand opportunities for Amazon and other companies utilizing the new technologies.

In addition, Wood outlined the cost-benefits of switching from human employees to robotic technology.

She said that the cost declines are in the 50 -- 60% range because of the cost declines, which drive all of our models for every cumulative doubling in the number of robots produced.

As of mid- 2022, Amazon has been expanding its robotics through various projects with over 500,000 robots in use. The robots include the Hercules, Robin, Pegasus and Sparrow, which help with a variety of functions in Amazon facilities.

The Sparrow robot, which was launched in November 2022, will be able to help employees in fulfillment centers by picking individual items and storing them in inventory before the products are sent to customers, according to an About Amazon blog post.

The company has been expanding its robotics, but they have also come under scrutiny for large layoffs, affecting a large portion of the tech sector.

More than 18,000 workers are being laid off by Amazon this month, mainly from the retail division and PXT People Experience and Technology, which deals with human resources and other matters.

Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so, Jassy said in a Jan. 4 blog post. These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure. The expansion of robotics threatens existing jobs for human employees, but Amazon has tried to promote new jobs that are offered by innovative technology.

The design and deployment of robotics and technology across our operations has resulted in over 700 new jobs that now exist within the company, and all because of the technology we've introduced into our operations, a November 2022 blog post said.