Amazon unveiled its next-generation Proteus warehouse robot at its Delivering the Future event in London on Thursday. The autonomous mobile robot is designed to understand natural language commands from workers and transport items in warehouses. The announcement comes as the company continues AI-driven workforce reductions, having cut 14,000 corporate workers in October and a further 16,000 workers in January.
Amazon Deploys Natural Language Warehouse Robot
The next-generation Proteus allows workers to direct the robot in plain language, without technical commands or a programming interface. The original Proteus was first deployed in Amazon fulfillment centers in 2022 to assist workers, including transporting heavy carts weighing up to 400 kilograms. It's currently used in 25 fulfillment centers in the U.S., with the latest version of the robot set to be rolled out in Europe in the first half of 2027.
Amazon is committing to investing 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) to modernize fulfillment operations in Europe over the next few years. Other robotics advancements include its first robot with a sense of touch, Vulcan, and a robotic tote handling system called STARK.
Amazon Reduces Corporate Workforce by 30,000
Amazon cut 14,000 corporate workers in October as it looks to invest further in AI technology. The company is laying off a further 16,000 workers in January to reduce layers and bureaucracy. CEO Andy Jassy told staff last year that AI will result in a shrinking of Amazon's workforce over the coming years.
"We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs," Jassy said in a memo to employees. "It's hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce."
AI was responsible for over 50,000 layoffs in the U.S. during 2025, according to the source.
Amazon Executives Defend Robotics Employment Impact
"Since we've invested in robotics, we've created hundreds of thousands of jobs," Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics told CNBC on Thursday. Investments in people, upskilling, and smart machines create jobs, Brady said, adding that Amazon is creating jobs at a scale not seen in the U.S. in the past 10 years.
Amazon's Country Manager for the U.K. and Ireland, John Boumphrey, told CNBC that its robotics investment actually requires it to hire more workers inside fulfillment centers, with the company struggling to hire people with the right skills. "I would place a large bet that we're going to need an awful lot of people in our warehouse in the future... we employ more people in the same space, so actually, our experience of robots is that it's driven up employment rather than the reverse," Boumphrey told CNBC.
Boumphrey said Amazon "cannot find enough people to do the skilled jobs that we need," from robotic technicians to mechatronic engineers.
UK Youth Unemployment Reaches One Million
The number of young people between the ages of 16 and 24, who are not in education, employment or training in the U.K., reached over one million by the end of May, according to data from the country's Office for National Statistics last week.
Boumphrey said it's a "national crisis" with a key challenge being that young people are unprepared for the world of work. "It's the combination of growing up in Covid and an era of smartphones and social media...we've brought up a generation of young people whose idea of engaging with the community is to sit in a darkened room, be on their phone, and scroll; that's not their fault."
The company has created over 6,000 apprenticeships in the U.K. to address this skills gap and gives staff £3000 a year to train on nationally recognized courses.
FAQ
What did Amazon unveil at its London event on Thursday?
Amazon unveiled its next-generation Proteus warehouse robot at its Delivering the Future event in London on Thursday. The autonomous mobile robot is designed to understand natural language commands from workers and transport items in warehouses.
How many workers has Amazon laid off in recent months?
Amazon cut 14,000 corporate workers in October and is laying off a further 16,000 workers in January to reduce layers and bureaucracy. CEO Andy Jassy said AI will result in a shrinking of Amazon's workforce over the coming years.
When will Amazon's new Proteus robot be deployed in Europe?
The latest version of the Proteus robot is set to be rolled out in Europe in the first half of 2027. Amazon is committing to investing 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) to modernize fulfillment operations in Europe over the next few years.
