U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday called on Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos to account for what the Vermont independent said were hundreds of thousands of potential lost jobs due to automation.
“If Amazon succeeds on its massive automation plan, it will have a profound impact on blue-collar workers throughout America and will likely be used as a model by large corporations throughout America,” Sanders wrote in a letter to Bezos, which was exclusively reviewed by Reuters.
Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats, was referring to a New York Times article published earlier this month that cited documents and interviews showing that Amazon executives believe 500,000 jobs could be cut over time by replacing warehouse workers with robots. Amazon employs 1.55 million people, the majority of whom are hourly workers.
An Amazon spokesperson said the company had no immediate response to the letter. However, Amazon has said its automation goals are to assist workers and create new jobs.
On Monday, Reuters reported Amazon planned to cut as many as 30,000 corporate jobs beginning Tuesday, as it pares expenses. It announced an initial cut of some 14,000 jobs tied in part to efficiency gains from its use of artificial intelligence software, according to a note posted to the company’s website.
In the letter, Sanders asked Bezos whether Amazon planned to provide laid-off workers with sufficient severance payments and some continuation of their health-care coverage. He also noted that Amazon workers have received federal subsidies for food, housing and health care and the company has received “billions of dollars” in federal contracts.
“What are Amazon’s plans to provide help and support for the many hundreds of thousands of workers you’ll be replacing with robots and AI?” said Sanders, referring to artificial intelligence software.
Bezos is now executive chairman and no longer runs day-to-day operations at Amazon after the company appointed Andy Jassy as chief executive in 2021. Jassy said earlier this year that advancements in AI would lead to a shrinking corporate workforce at the Seattle-based firm.
Sanders has frequently sparred with Amazon and Bezos, particularly over warehouse working conditions, but also what he has called union-busting tactics.
(Reporting by Greg Bensinger; Editing by Leslie Adler and Chizu Nomiyama )
