--- title: "More Robots Means Fewer Seasonal Workers for Amazon This Holiday" description: "According to the latest numbers, Amazon is hiring 20,000 fewer additional seasonal workers this year compared to last year. Are robots taking over?" date: "2018-11-05" modified: "2018-11-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/more-robots-fewer-seasonal-workers-amazon-holiday" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "Amazon" - "amazon kiva robots" - "amazon workers" - "the digest" --- # More Robots Means Fewer Seasonal Workers for Amazon This Holiday ![]() *\Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Alexa, Buy Me a Gift The holiday season is upon us, and Amazon is getting ready for the seasonal onslaught with [100,000 additional warehouse hires](). That's about 20,000 [fewer than last year](). [According to analysts](), the drop is because the company's automation efforts are succeeding. ## Automating Santa In 2012, Amazon [bought Kiva Systems]() — the maker of little orange robots that are quickly becoming the gold standard in warehouse distribution center automation. They are proving particularly useful in Amazon's fulfillment centers, where they move orders around massive warehouses quietly and efficiently — and without complaining about [horrendous working conditions](). The result: fewer human workers. ## Prime Real Estate Automation has also brought much higher productivity to Amazon's [many smaller distribution centers](). And it's packing as many robots into each of them as it can. The company is planning on using cubic instead of square feet to measure the size of its warehouses thanks to multi-story warehouse systems, *CNBC* [reports](). And if you're one of the unlucky few warehouse workers [working grueling overtime]() during the holiday season: happy holidays. **READ MORE:** [Reduced holiday temp hiring is a sign Amazon is turning to more automation and robots: Citi]() \[*CNBC*\] ***More on Amazon robots: [Amazon Is Ramping up Its (Still Rather) Secretive Home Robot Project]()*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()