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A robot prepares to pick up a bag containing a product at an Amazon Robotics fulfillment center on April 12, 2019 in Orlando, Florida.
norphoto | norphoto | Getty Images
summit Amazon The idea that robots and other technologies are taking jobs away from people is a “myth,” an executive told CNBC on Thursday.
Rather than replacing jobs, advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and other technologies are enhancing people's roles, said Stefano LaRoviere, director of global robotics, mechatronics and sustainable packaging at Amazon.
He added that new technology is creating entirely new job categories.
“It's a myth that technology and robots are taking jobs,” LaRoviere told CNBC's “Street Signs Europe” on Thursday.
Amazon says the introduction of new technologies has boosted more than 50,000 jobs across its fulfillment centers in Europe.
The e-commerce giant says it has installed more than 1,000 new technologies across its network of European fulfillment centers over the past five years, with a total investment of more than €700 million ($751 million).
“Robotics and technology help our employees… by reducing walking distance between tasks, eliminating repetitive movements, or… [by] “Helping them lift heavy weights,” LaRovere said.
“In return, our employees can learn new skills, they can learn new competencies, and they can gain new capabilities that allow them to advance towards their career goals,” he added.
“Over the past years, more than 700 new categories of jobs have been created through the use of technology,” LaRoviere added.
He cited the example of his own team, Amazon's robotics and artificial intelligence division, which is focused on bringing automation to Amazon's vast network of fulfillment centers responsible for getting orders packed and ready for delivery to customers.
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