A robot prepares to pick up a tote bag containing products at an Amazon Robotic Fulfillment Center in Orlando, Florida, on April 12, 2019.
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on top Amazon The executive told CNBC on Thursday that the idea that robots and other technologies are taking away human jobs is a “myth.”
Stefano La Rovere, director of global robotics, mechatronics and sustainable packaging at Amazon, said that advanced robots, artificial intelligence and other technologies are not replacing jobs, but enhancing people’s roles.
He added that new technologies are creating entirely new categories of jobs.
“It’s a myth that technology and robots are going to replace jobs,” LaRoville told CNBC’s “Signpost Europe” on Thursday.
Amazon said the introduction of new technology has added more than 50,000 jobs to its European distribution centers.
The e-commerce giant said it has installed more than 1,000 new technologies in its network of European distribution centers over the past five years, with a total investment of more than 700 million euros ($751 million).
“Robots and technology can help our employees… shorten the walking distance between tasks, eliminate repetitive motions, or help them lift heavy objects,” Laroville said.
“In turn, our employees can learn new skills, they can learn new competencies, and they can acquire new capabilities that enable them to move toward their career goals,” he added.
La Rovere added: “The use of technology has created more than 700 new categories of jobs over the past few years.”
He cited the example of his own team, Amazon’s robotics and artificial intelligence division, which works to bring automation to Amazon’s vast network of fulfillment centers that pack orders and prepare them for delivery to customers.
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