JD.com Founder Liu: A Day Will Come When Couriers Will No Longer Be Needed!
Richard Liu, Founder and Chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, made striking statements about the future of the courier profession. Liu said that robots will be used more widely in parcel delivery, adding that the need for couriers could largely decrease in the future. This statement has once again brought automation debates in the fields of e-commerce, logistics, and employment to the agenda.
The Robot Era in Courier Services
In his assessment at the APEC China CEO Forum, Richard Liu emphasized that robots will take a more active role in delivery processes. Liu said, “When robots deliver parcels in the future, sooner or later there will come a day when couriers will basically no longer be needed.”
JD.com has approximately 700,000 delivery workers. Stating that they are aware of the risks this transformation may create for employees, Liu said, “I truly do not want our 700,000 brothers to be left without food or jobs.”
JD.com’s Reskilling Plan for Employees
The company has launched an internal transformation program called “Nirvana” to reduce the impact of the automation process on employees. Within this scope, JD.com aims to train courier workers in new fields by collaborating with approximately 120 schools across China.
The program focuses on new occupational fields such as robot maintenance technician, robot repair, and artificial intelligence trainer. According to Liu’s statements, the company wants to protect the income and job security of frontline employees during the process in which robots are introduced.
The Automation Race in Logistics Is Accelerating
JD.com has long been investing in technologies such as unmanned warehouses, autonomous delivery vehicles, drone delivery, and smart delivery points. The company’s logistics arm, JD Logistics, operates more than 3,600 warehouses in China. In addition, the company has begun expanding its international logistics network by launching JoyExpress, its first overseas consumer-focused express delivery service, in Saudi Arabia.
A Critical Question for Courier Employment
According to experts, robotic delivery systems have the potential to reduce costs, increase delivery speed, and provide operational efficiency. However, this transformation also creates serious employment uncertainty for millions of couriers and gig economy workers. JD.com’s plan aims to support employees with new skills in a sector where automation is inevitable. Nevertheless, the most critical question remains whether reskilling programs will be sufficient for courier workers against the pace at which robots become widespread.