▲ JD.com delivery workers
The founder of JD.com, one of China's largest e-commerce companies, has publicly stated that all of his company's delivery workers could be replaced by robots.
His remarks have drawn attention, as other major big tech entrepreneurs have been hesitant to discuss the impact of the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics on the labor market.
According to Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily and China's Guancha.cn on June 23, Liu Qiangdong, founder and chairman of the board of JD.com, said at the "2026 APEC China CEO Forum" held in Beijing on June 21, "In the future, robots will handle all delivery tasks, and there will be no need for delivery workers at all."
Predicting that the 700,000 blue-collar workers, including delivery personnel, will eventually be completely replaced by robots, he unveiled a plan for the transition of his company's blue-collar workforce for the first time that day.
"I do not want our 700,000 brothers (delivery workers) to lose their livelihoods," he explained. "JD.com has already signed contracts with over 120 schools across the country and plans to provide technical training for our employees."
According to JD.com's new plan, delivery personnel will be retrained to handle the maintenance and management of robots.
"When a machine breaks down, a human must eventually handle it," he added. "JD.com will move our brothers away from physical labor that requires them to go back and forth in wind and rain, and transition them into technical roles."
Like Coupang, JD.com possesses its own logistics and delivery network.
Last year, the company also entered the food delivery business and signed formal labor contracts with 150,000 full-time riders.
Amid growing concerns that humans will be replaced by AI, JD.com's plan has received positive assessments as an attempt by a massive corporation to absorb the shocks of changing times through education rather than layoffs.
However, questions remain as to whether retraining 700,000 people is realistic.
Local Chinese media pointed out that there is no precedent in the industry for such a large-scale, proactive workforce redeployment.
Furthermore, this plan by JD.com is expected to align with the structural transformation of China's entire labor market.
According to the China Center for New Employment Forms, the number of gig economy workers (short-term contract workers) in China has increased significantly from 200 million five years ago to an estimated 320 million this year.
In China, where high youth unemployment is a social issue, if a wave of layoffs for gig workers, including delivery personnel, were to begin, the Chinese economy is also expected to take a hit.
(Photo: PA, Yonhap News)
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