Richard Liu warns robots could replace JD.com's 700,000 couriers
JD.com founder Richard Liu just shared a pretty big update: robots might eventually take over the jobs of all 700,000 of the company's delivery workers.
Speaking at a major APEC forum in Beijing, Liu said that there will definitely be a day when couriers are basically no longer needed.
He admitted automation is coming, but stressed that it's important to help workers find new paths forward.
JD.com retrains couriers for robot maintenance
JD.com isn't leaving its team behind. It's already teaming up with nearly 120 schools to retrain delivery staff for roles like robot repair and maintenance.
While robots will handle deliveries in cities like Shenzhen, they'll still need humans for regular checkups and fixes.
This shift comes as China's gig economy keeps booming (320 million gig workers expected by 2026) but also raises real questions about job security as tech keeps changing the work landscape.