JD.com robots will replace its 700,000 couriers JD.com founder Richard Liu has stated that robots will eventually replace the company’s 700,000 couriers, marking a frank acknowledgment of automation’s impact on blue-collar jobs. To address this, JD.com has initiated an internal program to retrain delivery staff for new roles, such as robot maintenance engineers and AI trainers, partnering with schools across China. The success of this retraining initiative hinges on whether it can equip workers with new skills faster than automation displaces their current jobs.

• JD.com founder Richard Liu predicts robots will eventually replace the company’s 700,000 couriers.
• The company has launched an internal program called Nirvana to retrain couriers for new roles.
• JD.com is partnering with about 120 schools in China to offer retraining in skills like robot maintenance.
• New roles for former couriers include robot maintenance engineers and AI trainers.
• Liu has pledged that JD will not fire any front-line workers replaced by machines, relying on retraining.
• JD.com already operates automated logistics, including unmanned warehouses, drone delivery, and self-driving vans.
• The comments come amid concerns in China about automation’s impact on vulnerable workers and rising youth unemployment.
• The core question for JD’s couriers is whether retraining will be completed before robots render their current jobs obsolete. Continue reading https://thenextweb.com/news/jd-com-robots-replace-delivery-workers