ManufAi

There’s panic at Amazon again, as the company announces yet another round of layoffs. This time, it’s 14,000 jobs, and the robots aren’t even pretending to hide their smugness. For years, Amazon has promised to make life easier with automation. Now, corporate employees are getting liberated from work duties — and their corporate parking spots — by fleets of tireless AI-powered warehouse bots.​

Meanwhile, the PR teams are in overdrive, selling the narrative that this is all due to “innovative AI.” Sure, AI can pick a box — but can it explain why your Prime order of banana slicers got sent to Finland? Didn’t think so. Still, every restructuring memo reassures us: “AI will help humans focus on higher-value tasks,” which is, ironically, mostly polishing LinkedIn profiles after mass layoffs.​

It’s not just Amazon — GM, UPS, and other big players are suddenly allergic to human workers in manufacturing too. Their solution: “automate 75% of operations,” all while quietly hoping nobody notices the robots still need humans to reset Wi-Fi and untangle shrink wrap from conveyor belts.​

At this rate, maybe the bots really do deserve the Employee of the Month plaque. After all, they never use up sick days, never complain, and never form unions (yet). But before you accept your fate, consider this: until a robot survives three rounds of IT onboarding and still remembers its password, humanity might just squeak by.

So cheers to AI — the only thing better at taking jobs than middle management, and the only hype beast strong enough to unite Amazon execs and warehouse workers in mutual confusion. The next time someone says “AI-powered restructuring,” remember: in the future, your severance package may be delivered by drone.