Amazon has introduced its latest warehouse robot, Proteus. It is an autonomous mobile robot that can understand commands in conversational (natural) language from workers. This made its debut at the tech giant’s Delivering the Future event in London. Amazon is committing to invest €10 billion (~$11.6 billion) in modernizing its fulfillment network in Europe over the next few years.
Amazon’s new warehouse robot Proteus does all the heavy lifting and some more
The original Proteus was first deployed in Amazon fulfillment centers in 2022 to assist workers, including in transporting heavy carts weighing up to 400 kgs. This is currently in use in 25 fulfillment centers in the US. Meanwhile, the latest version of the robot is currently being piloted in Amazon’s labs, with rollout in Europe planned for the first half of 2027. Like the predecessor, it’ll take on physically demanding tasks, while employees can focus on other tasks like ensuring quality control and managing inventory flow.
In addition to doing the heavy lifting, the next-gen Proteus goes a step further. Instead of operating only in dock areas, the new system works anywhere items need to be moved. This includes transporting containers as they arrive at a site, transferring them between workstations, and assisting employees at the fulfillment centers/delivery sites.
The company is committing to investing €10 billion in Europe
The new Proteus and additional robotics expansions in Europe are designed to support employees by taking on “physically strenuous” tasks. As part of the €10 billion investment, Amazon plans to grow its European fulfillment center workforce by 25,000 in the coming years. The expansion and modernization of the European fulfillment operations include the rollout of Vulcan. It can see and feel objects simultaneously to navigate densely packed environments.
Additionally, Amazon also plans to introduce STARK, a new collaborative robotic tote-handling system. It works side by side with employees, picking full totes from conveyors and placing them on carts. STARK will expand to 15 sites across Europe by 2027.
The company notes that since introducing robotics into its operations, Amazon has hired hundreds of thousands of employees globally. It created new categories of jobs, including reliability, maintenance, and engineering roles.
Comes amid layoffs
However, the announcement comes as the tech giant laid off nearly 30,000 of its corporate workforce over the last year to invest in AI. The company’s CEO, Andy Jassy, said that AI would result in the shrinking of Amazon’s workforce over the coming years. That said, layoffs weren’t specific to Amazon. Many tech giants like Meta, Oracle, and others took/are taking the same path in recent months.
However, Tye Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics, told CNBC on Thursday that “since it’s investing in robotics, we’ve created hundreds of thousands of jobs.” He further added that investments in people upskilling and smart machines create jobs. He added that “Amazon is creating jobs at a scale not seen in the US in the past 10 years.”
Amazon’s U.K. and Ireland head John Boumphrey reportedly said that increased robotics use is driving the need for more fulfillment center workers. To that extent, the company is apparently facing challenges in finding employees with the right skills.
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