Amazon’s Blue Jay robot handles 75% of warehouse items with minimal human oversight

Amazon unveiled its Blue Jay robot and Project Eluna AI system as part of a broader warehouse automation initiative, despite internal documents suggesting these technologies could reduce hiring needs. The announcement comes as CEO Andy Jassy has indicated that AI and automation will likely decrease Amazon’s corporate workforce in coming years, creating tension between the company’s public messaging about job creation and its internal efficiency goals.

What you should know: Blue Jay represents a significant leap in warehouse automation capabilities, designed to handle the majority of Amazon’s inventory with minimal human oversight.

• The robot can move 75 percent of the types of items Amazon stores and consolidates three separate robotic stations into one streamlined workspace that can pick, stow, and consolidate simultaneously.
• Amazon developed Blue Jay in just over a year using AI, digital twins (virtual replicas of physical systems), and data from existing robots, positioning it as a “core technology” for Same-Day delivery sites.
• Project Eluna serves as an “agentic AI system” that “acts like an extra teammate, helping reduce that cognitive load” while optimizing sorting to reduce bottlenecks.

The big picture: Amazon’s robotics push reflects a broader strategy to cut e-commerce costs while maintaining growth without proportional increases in human workforce.

• Internal documents cited by The New York Times reveal Amazon’s automation shift aims to help it “sell more products without hiring more people.”
• The company is creating facilities that process more items with fewer employees, with remaining workers increasingly focused on maintaining and managing robots rather than handling inventory directly.

What they’re saying: Amazon executives are carefully framing the automation narrative around human partnership rather than replacement.

• “The real headline isn’t about robots.. It’s about people—and the future of work we’re building together,” said Tye Brady, Amazon Robotics chief technologist.
• CEO Andy Jassy was more direct in a June letter to employees, stating: “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs… we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”

Why this matters: The contrast between Amazon’s public messaging and internal planning documents highlights the complex reality of AI-driven automation in the workplace.

• While Amazon touts plans to fill 250,000 positions for the holiday season and claims to have created more U.S. jobs than any company over the past decade, its long-term automation strategy suggests a different trajectory.
• The Blue Jay system’s ability to handle three-quarters of Amazon’s inventory types signals a significant shift toward lights-out automation in fulfillment centers, potentially setting industry standards for warehouse operations.