It appears as though all of Santa’s workers have left the North Pole workshop in search of more favorable careers (dentistry maybe?), but where does that leave jolly Old St. Nick? Who will help him make and deliver the toys?
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Children should have nothing to fear this year because Amazon is here to help.
In preparation for Cyber Monday and the holiday season, Amazon has unleashed the big dogs. That is, they ramped up production by employing thousands of robots to help fulfill order requirements. But fear not—the online retailer says no actual human jobs are in danger!
The robots use computer-coded stickers to move about the Amazon warehouses. The stickers are placed on the floor, and the robots follow along the stickered path to the designated products. Once these giant Roomba-like robots have reached their destination, they lift up giant shelves of products and move them to waiting human workers for packaging.
These robots not only eliminate needless walking but also reduce the need for aisles. Since the robots can move around the warehouse and carry the shelves, there is no longer a need for aisles. According to The Seattle Times, the elimination of aisles gives Amazon the ability to offer more products at each warehouse, decreasing the time it takes to get goods from warehouse shelves to customer doorsteps.
With the introduction of the robots, Amazon was able to increase the human population at their warehouses by hiring more than 150,000 new workers. So Santa, you better watch out; you better not cry; you better not pout; I’m tellin’ you why … Amazon is coming to town!
Sounds like the elves should fear the robots more than Santa.