Amazon's massive robot hiring spree

PLUS: Patients control AI and robotics with thought

Jennifer Mossalgue

October 23, 2025

Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. Amazon is planning to replace more than half a million workers with robots by 2033, according to leaked documents that outline automating 75% of operations while saving billions.

The warehouse of the future, if Amazon’s plan holds, looks to be a robot empire. But the fate of the humans who once filled them? That’s a harder question.

In today’s robotics rundown:

Amazon to replace 600K U.S. job with robots
Musk says he wants control over Tesla’s ‘robot army’
Water-blasting drones fight fires autonomously
Noetix debuts ‘family-friendly’ humanoid for $1.4K
Quick hits on other robotics news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

AMAZON

📦 Amazon to replace 600K U.S. jobs with robots

Image source: Amazon

The Rundown: Amazon plans to cut 600K U.S. jobs, replacing humans with robots across three-quarters of its operations, according to leaked documents seen by The New York Times. Morgan Stanley says the switch could save the retail giant $4B a year.

The details:

Amazon’s roadmap targets avoiding more than 600K new U.S. hires by 2033, including about 160K roles it would otherwise need as early as 2027.
The company reportedly aims to automate roughly 75% of its operations through next‑gen facilities that already run with skeleton crews.
Projected savings: 30 cents per package and $12.6B between 2025–2027, according to the NYT, with Morgan Stanley suggesting $4B a year.
Internal communications advised teams to scrub terms like “automation” and “AI” from public messaging, opting for “advanced technology” and “cobots.”

Why it matters: Amazon is pushing back on the report, noting it plans to recruit 250K workers for the holiday season and has tripled its U.S. headcount since 2018 to nearly 1.2M. Meanwhile, its Shreveport, LA site already deploys 1K robots and runs with 25% fewer workers — a template Amazon plans to replicate across 40 sites by 2027.

TESLA

🤯 Musk says he wants control over Tesla’s ‘robot army’

Image source: Tesla

The Rundown: Elon Musk says he needs investors to approve a $1T payday so he can keep control of Tesla’s “robot army” — yes, really. As the EV business scrapes out a modest rebound, he’s doubling down on Optimus and robotaxis for Tesla’s future.

The details:

On this week’s Q3 earnings call, Musk pressed investors to back a proposed $1T pay package and his authority to “control” Tesla's emerging “robot army.”
Musk says Optimus will become an “incredible surgeon” and, paired with robotaxis, claims Tesla’s robots could help build a world without poverty.
Tesla shares dropped after hours following the earnings report, with Musk hyping robotaxis and Optimus rather than core EV fundamentals.
Musk says Tesla is aiming to demo its next‑gen “Optimus V3” in Q1 2026.

Why it matters: Musk is effectively asking shareholders to fund his pivot from carmaker to robotics empire, betting Tesla’s future on unproven humanoid tech while threatening to walk if they refuse. If investors balk, it could show waning confidence in his ability to deliver moonshots while the core EV business stalls.

SENECA

🔥 Water-blasting drones fight fires autonomously

Image source: Seneca

The Rundown: Sausalito startup Seneca raised $60M to build autonomous, water‑cannon drones that self‑launch to attack wildfires before they spread. After putting out test burns, Seneca is aiming for its first real‑world deployments next year.

The details:

The drones self‑dispatch, fly autonomously, and pummel wildfires with dual water cannons engineered for rapid knockdowns.
Seneca targets sub‑10‑minute response from remote launch sites, using heavy‑lift airframes that haul 100 lb. payloads and blast water at over 100 PSI.
The startup says that five-drone teams can lay around 1,280 feet of foam perimeter with precision, boxing in small fires before they run amok.
A five‑drone kit is priced from the high six figures into the low seven figures, undercutting helicopter sorties for initial attack.

Why it matters: California’s fire season now runs year-round, with the state losing over 4M acres in 2020 alone and climate change pushing ignition risk higher. Seneca’s drones could rewrite response by wiping out blazes in their first critical minutes — that narrow window that separates a contained burn from an unstoppable inferno.

NOETIX ROBOTICS

🤖 Noetix debuts ‘family-friendly’ humanoid for $1.4K

Image source: Noetix

The Rundown: Beijing startup Noetix Robotics just unveiled Bumi, a lightweight, child-sized humanoid priced under CN¥ 10K (about $1,370) that can walk, balance, and even dance — squarely aimed at classrooms and living rooms, not research labs.

The details:

Bumi stands 3' 1" tall, weighs 26 lb., and at $1,370 claims to be the first “high-performance” humanoid under the CN¥ 10K threshold.
Noetix says the robot walks, balances, and dances with bipedal stability and coordinated movement designed for everyday spaces.
Built with lightweight composites and a self-developed motion control stack, Bumi pairs an open programming interface with voice interaction.
Power comes from a 48V battery (over 3.5Ah) delivering roughly 1–2 hours of runtime, as per launch materials; presale kicks off on Singles’ Day, Nov. 11.

Why it matters: Pricing a capable humanoid below $1.5K undercuts even China's cheapest models and costs a fraction of U.S.-available options like the $16K Unitree G1 or Tesla's projected $20K–$30 Optimus. If Bumi finds traction in schools and homes, expect Western robotics firms to scramble for their own sub-$2K response.

QUICK HITS

📰 Everything else in robotics today

Amazon unveiled Blue Jay, a system of robotic arms that merges three warehouse stations into one so it can pick, sort, stow, and consolidate items simultaneously.

Elon Musk predicts that Tesla will remove the safety monitor from its robotaxis by year-end and launch a robotaxi service in 8–10 new markets by the end of 2025.

South Korea's massive Future Innovation Technology Expo is showcasing flying taxis, humanoids, and autonomous vehicles across 2K booths in Daegu.

Serve Robotics, a developer of sidewalk delivery bots, agreed to sell more than 6M shares in a registered direct offering expected to raise about $100M.

China’s UBTECH says this year’s orders for its Walker humanoid series have surpassed CN¥ 630M (about $88M).

Walmart has created a new executive role to oversee delivery drones and other autonomous fulfillment tech, naming company veteran Greg Cathey to lead the effort.

Shenzhen-based Leju Robotics raised $207M in pre‑IPO funding to speed humanoid development and scale manufacturing.

NC State researchers 3D‑printed paper‑thin magnetic films that, when attached to origami, act as “muscles” and move under magnetic fields without hindering folding.

COMMUNITY