Amazon said to cut 100 jobs in robotics unit

Amazon reportedly cut about 100 white-collar jobs in its robotics unit, which designs robots and other conveyances used for warehouse automation.

This follows broader corporate layoffs starting in October, including about 14,000 white-collar employees, with total cuts reaching roughly 30,000 after about 16,000 jobs were cut in January.

Amazon halted development of Blue Jay, a multiarm robotic system it demonstrated in October 2025, in January 2026.

The company said it regularly reviews its organizations to ensure teams are best set up to innovate and deliver for customers, without specifying how many jobs were cut.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Amazon paused one warehouse robot project to move to a new setup

Amazon stopped work on Blue Jay, a multiarm robotic system it presented in October 2025, in January 2026 after running into high costs, tough manufacturing, and rollout hurdles 1.
Blue Jay was built for the “Local Vending Machine,” an older, rigid warehouse design where automation sits inside one large, tightly linked structure 1.
Amazon is moving to “Orbital,” a modular approach that could fit as a micro-fulfillment solution (a small-scale order-prep operation) in the back of Whole Foods stores 1.
Blue Jay’s underlying tech will continue in other projects, including “Flex Cell,” a newer floor-mounted system 1.

Automation plans still outscale recent robotics job cuts

Amazon cut about 100 white-collar roles in its robotics unit, while internal documents project automation could let the company avoid hiring over 160,000 people in the U.S. by 2027 and more than 600,000 by 2033 2.
Those documents also set a target to automate 75% of Amazon’s operations 3.
Leaked materials discuss softer language for the shift, including “advanced technology,” and using “cobot” instead of “robot” (short for collaborative robot, designed to work alongside humans) 3.
As Amazon makes warehouse automation pay off, other large companies may copy the model to lower expenses, which could widen effects across the labor market 4.