The chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has warned that the company’s roughly 700,000 delivery drivers will be replaced by robots “sooner or later,” arriving at a time when rapid automation is fueling widespread employment concerns.
Speaking on Sunday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Beijing, Richard Liu revealed that the corporation has already signed agreements with approximately 120 educational institutions to retrain its workforce for new roles, such as robot repair and maintenance.
Liu stated that in the future, when robots handle package deliveries, a day will inevitably come when traditional delivery couriers will essentially no longer be needed. The entrepreneur admitted he does not know exactly when robotic deliveries will become mainstream across China, but he emphasized that technology should ultimately improve people’s quality of life and make work “more interesting” rather than stripping workers of their right to employment.
These remarks coincide with Beijing’s accelerated push into robotics and artificial intelligence as core engines for economic growth. China’s latest five-year plan identifies robotics as a strategic sector for the nation’s industrial modernization. According to the International Federation of Robotics, China aims to position robotics at the center of its modern industrial system, steering AI research toward physical applications with a direct economic impact.
Read more about this topic: From Alibaba to Meituan: how China’s e-commerce giants are positioning on the automation question
In response to growing anxieties, Chinese officials have sought to reassure the most vulnerable segments of the workforce. Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping stated that the government is exploring avenues to extend social security coverage to digital platform workers.
Data from the China Research Center on New Forms of Employment suggests that the number of gig or independent workers is expected to hit 320 million this year—up from 200 million five years ago—representing roughly 40% of urban employment in the country.
These automation anxieties are unfolding against the backdrop of a cooling labor market, with China’s youth unemployment rate sitting at 16.3%. Consequently, organizations like Human Rights Watch have urged Chinese authorities to strengthen protections for digital platform workers, especially following Beijing’s endorsement of an International Labour Organization convention on decent work in the platform economy.
JD.com remains one of China’s largest e-commerce heavyweights alongside rivals Alibaba and Meituan. Founded by Liu, the company debuted on the Nasdaq in 2014 and maintains a secondary listing in Hong Kong.
