Amazon can now train warehouse workers in as little as two days due to new technology like touch screens and robots, according to The Wall Street Journal.
From November through December, Amazon hopes to add 120,000 seasonal workers at its warehouses to prepare for peak holiday shopping season. To attract these employees, the Seattle-based company harnessed new technologies to make training fast, easy and flexible, according to the report.
In 2016, Amazon built 26 new facilities in the U.S., each of which rely on screens, robots, scanners and other technology to simplify tasks for workers, according to John Olsen, vice president of human resources for Amazon.
New employees receive hands-on training as soon as their first day on the job, said Mr. Olsen. They first learn how to pack up shipments, guided by a screen that indicates which box size to use and automatically releases a piece of tap to fit the package, according to the report.
In traditional warehouses, new employees usually spend their first day in a classroom and the total training period can take up to six weeks, according to supply chain experts.
“The technology works to walk you through the steps,” said Mr. Olsen. “It automates almost everything.”
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