I watched a factory lay off 200 people and replace them with AI scheduling in 2019

Six years ago I worked at a warehouse in Ohio where management rolled out an automated system that optimized shifts and routes overnight. Now they run the whole floor with half the staff and no one gets overtime. Has anyone else seen a place go from people to algorithms that fast?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_rose1mo agoMost Upvoted

It makes you wonder if that's why everything from grocery stores to pharmacies feels so hollow now, with just a skeleton crew running the place and no one around to actually help you find anything.

pat_schmidt6018d ago

Did a buddy of mine just go through this? Told me he spent 20 minutes walking around a grocery store trying to find someone to ask about a product, finally gave up and left without buying anything.

jesse_fisher1mo ago

Wait, you're saying there's actually only a skeleton crew at some of these places? Like literally just one or two people running the whole store? I mean, I knew it felt empty, but I thought that was just my imagination. The other day I was in a pharmacy trying to find some allergy meds and there was literally one teenager at the register who looked like he had no idea where anything was either. I ended up just wandering around for ten minutes before giving up and leaving. That's nuts if that's the new normal.