Excluding contract and seasonal workers, Amazon now has 154,100 employees either full-time or part-time, thanks to a 31% increase in the company’s workforce in 2014 alone.
To put this number into perspective, Microsoft currently employs around 123,000 people.
Not to mention, Amazon employs an insane number of robots to fulfill orders in the retail giant’s massive product warehouses.
Amazon revealed in its earnings report that it utilizes more than 15,000 robots regularly, whereas Microsoft recently shut down its robotics group, a unit developing robotic tech, in September as part of its restructuring.
Amazon Earnings Report Excerpt:
Amazon unveiled its 8th-generation fulfillment center which utilizes robotics, vision systems, and almost 20 years worth of software and mechanical innovations to fulfill customer orders. During the holiday season, the fulfillment network included more than 15,000 robots in 10 fulfillment centers across the U.S.
While Bill Gates seems hesitant to use robots for Microsoft’s day-to-day operations, Jeff Bezos appears to be a huge proponent of automation as evidenced by Amazon purchasing robotics company Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012.
Bezos praised how effective the robots were at fulfilling Christmas orders from Amazon this year. Don’t be surprised if you see Amazon expand its workforce even more in the near future, with robot employees leading the way.
