Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) accelerates warehousing automation again! Investing $530 million to launch the "Four Corners" project, delivery efficiency skyrockets by 2.5 times.

According to internal planning documents obtained by foreign media, Amazon (AMZN) is developing a highly automated distribution station solution to handle the "last mile" sorting process before packages are delivered to customers, leveraging artificial intelligence and Siasun Robot & Automation technology. The project, internally codenamed "Tetromino," aims to tackle operations that have long been difficult to mechanize, including package classification and loading preparation. Documents indicate that a pilot facility is expected to be operational by 2028, with plans to expand to more sites, and the system's processing efficiency is anticipated to reach about 2.5 times that of existing distribution stations. The project's name is inspired by the classic puzzle game Tetris, which vividly reflects the complex challenge of efficiently stacking and loading packages of various sizes into delivery vehicles. Distribution stations are the end hubs of Amazon's logistics network, responsible for receiving packaged goods from fulfillment centers, conducting final sorting and temporary storage, and handing them off to drivers for delivery. Package sorting and loading have long been one of the most challenging aspects to automate in the logistics chainorganizing irregular packages and loading them into vehicles demands exceptionally high levels of perception, decision-making, and operational capabilities from Siasun Robot & Automation. Tetromino specifically targets this pain point, aiming to complete the final "manual processes" with AI and Siasun Robot & Automation. Documents reveal that Amazon plans to invest approximately $103 million to launch the Tetromino pilot project in 2028, with an additional five sites planned for 2029 (with an individual cost of about $85 million) and ten more in 2030. If this roadmap proceeds, the total investment in the project will exceed $530 million by 2029. Amazon disagrees with the financial forecasts and timelines in the documents, stating that Tetromino is still in the early conceptual stage and the plans may undergo significant adjustments; they also emphasize that the company continues to test new technologies to enhance operational safety and customer delivery experiences. This project reflects Amazon's strategic intent to expand automation throughout its logistics network. In July of this year, the company announced that the number of robotic arms would more than double within the year. Previously, Amazon had launched several Siasun Robot & Automation systems: the new generation Proteus Siasun Robot & Automation can accept commands through natural language; the Blue Jay system integrates multiple robotic arms to simultaneously complete picking, storage, and integration; Vulcan is Amazon's first Siasun Robot & Automation with tactile perception capabilities. By 2026, the deployment of Siasun Robot & Automation units in fulfillment centers will exceed one million. The document mentions a potential technical partner, Boxbota company in artificial intelligence and Siasun Robot & Automation, whose system specializes in the movement, sorting, and delivery sequence of packages. Boxbot's system can transfer packages from conveyor belts to storage pallets and automatically arrange them by delivery order using AI, claiming to improve the loading efficiency by up to ten times. On an industry level, Amazon is not alone. FedEx (FDX) is expanding the deployment of AI-driven Dexterity Siasun Robot & Automation for autonomous trailer loading, while UPS and DHL are utilizing Siasun Robot & Automation for unloading operations. Logistics giants are competing to enhance end-point automation, reflecting the entire industry's urgent need for cost reduction and efficiency improvement. However, the acceleration of automation has always been accompanied by debates over its impact on employment. Internal documents exposed in 2025 revealed that Amazon's Siasun Robot & Automation team aims to achieve 75% operational automation, with a forecast that by 2027, it could avoid hiring more than 160,000 people, and over the next decade, it could reduce the demand for more than 600,000 jobs. Amazon emphasizes that automation is designed to assist rather than replace employees, stating that no other American company has created more jobs than Amazon in the past decade. CEO Andy Jassy also candidly noted in an internal letter in June 2025: "Certain positions will require fewer people, while others will require more"suggesting that in the long run, improvements driven by AI may lead to a reduction in total employee numbers.