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Amazon states that it utilizes robots to free up personnel so that they can take on more complicated tasks.
Amazon is testing humanoid robots in its American warehouses, which is a sign that the tech giant is increasing automation of its operations.
Amazon asserted that the aim was to enable staff to deliver a superior service to customers.
It declared it was experimenting with a novel robot known as Digit, possessing arms and legs that are able to move, grasp, and manipulate objects in a fashion analogous to the movement of a human.
A union asserted Amazon had "been treating their employees as if they were machines for years".
Stuart Richards, an organiser at UK trade union GMB, commented that Amazon's automation is quickly leading to job losses, with hundreds of positions already being eliminated in their fulfilment centres.
Amazon declared that the implementation of its robotics systems had resulted in the generation of "hundred of thousands of new jobs" in its operations.
The firm stated that there are 700 categories of new, skilled job roles that have been added to the company which had not been in existence prior.
The tech giant stated that its current staff is comprised of over 750,000 robots operating alongside human employees, tasked mainly with executing highly repetitive jobs.
At a media briefing in Seattle, Tye Brady - Amazon Robotics' chief technologist - refuted the idea that Amazon could have fully-automated warehouses in the future, insisting that people were "irreplaceable".
He stated that there was not any part of him that believed that would ever come to pass.
"People play a pivotal role in the accomplishment of tasks; they possess the capacity to think critically and to identify issues."
Rather than being equipped with wheels for locomotion, Digit employs two legs to move about. Additionally, its arms can be employed to pick up and transport packages, containers, customer items, and other objects.
Scott Dresser of Amazon Robotics told the BBC that they had the capability to "maneuver over steps, up stairs, and through other areas of the facility where there is a change in elevation".
He declared that the robot was a prototype and that the test was to see if it could operate safely in the presence of human workers.
He indicated that they are conducting an experiment to gain more knowledge on how they can utilize mobile robots and robots with the ability to manipulate in the Amazon workspace.
Mr Dresser posited that the concerns regarding human jobs being supplanted did not correlate with what transpired at Amazon.
Our experience thus far has demonstrated that these new technologies create jobs rather than eliminate them. We have also seen evidence of this when observing the robots we currently have in service.
He lamented that they don't always operate well and noted that someone was needed to do repairs.
In recent years, Amazon has increased its employment of robots, due to the demand to reduce expenses.
Last year, the company revealed that it was testing a colossal robotic arm capable of lifting items. It has likewise employed wheeled robots to transport materials within its warehouses, and has initialized the utilization of drones for supply in two American states.
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