Inside Amazon’s vision for AI, robotics and jobs in Europe

Amazon’s strategy for automation and workforce development could offer useful lessons for employers and policymakers navigating Europe’s next phase of industrial transformation. At Delivering the Future in London, Amazon unveiled new robotics systems, AI-powered tools and workforce initiatives, underlining the scale of its ambitions in Europe by announcing plans to invest more than €10 billion in its European fulfilment network and create 25,000 jobs across the region over the coming years. In conversation with Euronews, Amazon executives described Europe not only as a testing ground for emerging technologies, but as a proving ground for new approaches to workforce transition – one that could help inform wider conversations about Europe’s economic competitiveness and the future of work. Technology and people ‘work together’ Debates around automation often focus on jobs that could disappear. Amazon argues that the more useful question for employers and policymakers is not whether automation happens, but how workers are included in shaping its rollout. For Amazon, investing more than €60 billion in Europe and supporting more than 1.5 million jobs across the continent in 2025, the debate is not an abstract one. “We think of people and technology as two very interconnected things,” Mariangela Marseglia, Vice President of European Stores for Amazon, told Euronews. “We are investing a lot to provide our people with the right skills to work in this new advanced environment.” To help workers shape and adapt to these changes, the company recently announced a $1 billion (€867 million) investment in its global Career Choice programme by 2030 as part of its wider Future Ready commitment. The programme has served approximately 750,000 employees to date with access to qualifications in fields including technology, renewable energy and data analytics. “Career Choice is our upskilling programme for hourly employees,” said Marseglia. “We pay tuition fees for them to undertake training in areas that are highly in demand.” Amazon also plans to double participation in Career Choice in the UK and expand its Supported Internship programme, with the aim of helping more than 1,000 young people with learning disabilities and autism access employment by 2030. How automation is changing warehouse work This human-machine strategy underpins a series of new robotics systems announced as part of the Delivering the Future event. At Amazon’s LCY3 fulfilment centre in Dartford, England, employees continue to play a vital role in processing as many as four million items each week, but many of the most physically demanding tasks are increasingly being supported by technology. Autonomous systems move inventory around the building, while employees oversee operations, solve exceptions and coordinate workflows. According to Amazon, more than 700 new job categories have been created since robotics were first introduced into its operations, including roles in robotics maintenance, systems monitoring, engineering support and data analysis. For Armin Cossmann, Vice President of Operations for Europe, the goal is not to automate people out of jobs, but to make work safer and less physically demanding. “It means that we’re going to help them do their jobs faster, more efficiently and more ergonomically,” Cossmann said. “This new technology is not going to put jobs at risk,” Cossmann said. “It’s going to help us hire more people.” From warehouse floor to robotics rollout Among the technologies unveiled at Delivering the Future was the next generation of Proteus, a heavy lifting autonomous robot that operates via conversational prompts, to be deployed in Europe early next year. “The new generation of Proteus is using more AI,” said Cossmann. “Employees can use this new Proteus device to communicate with them. It reacts to natural language.” Amazon also showcased Vulcan, a robotic arm equipped with a sense of touch that helps complete complex and precise inventory tasks in an increasing number of its global centres. Of all the technologies on show, STARK may provide the clearest expression of Amazon’s innovation strategy. First piloted in Barcelona after an employee identified a repetitive lifting task, the STARK system automates the transfer of goods from conveyor belts to carts, reducing the physical demand on workers who continue to oversee operations. Amazon plans to expand the system to 15 European sites by 2027, freeing up workers to focus on tasks that require judgement, problem-solving and technical skills. For Amazon, this approach reflects a broader view of Europe’s transition to AI. Rather than treating automation as a trade-off between efficiency and employment, the company argues that deployment, training and worker involvement need to happen in parallel. “Since the beginning, our intention was always to get the ideas from our employees, to listen, and to implement them,” said Cossmann. For Europe, projects such as STARK offer a case study in how worker participation can shape technology deployment – moving from warehouse floors in Barcelona to wider policy conversations about the future of work. Investing in European talent While robots may have stolen the show at Delivering the Future, Amazon’s broader message was simple: investing in technology also means investing in people. As automation reshapes logistics and fulfilment, Amazon argues that Europe’s competitive edge will depend not only on developing new technologies, but on creating models for deployment that combine automation, worker participation and investment in skills. With billions of euros committed to infrastructure, new technologies and training programmes across the continent, Amazon is positioning its European operations as an example of how automation can drive productivity while creating opportunities for workers. As its European model expands, Amazon says that this approach offers practical lessons for employers and policymakers seeking to embrace technological progress while supporting workforce transition.