Overview
- Amazon introduced the upgraded Proteus at its Dartford event on Thursday, June 4, saying the robot accepts natural‑language prompts and can operate across entire warehouse floors rather than only in dock zones.
- The announcement is wrapped into a pledged €10 billion investment for European fulfilment that the company says will fund automation, more local delivery sites, and faster services.
- Amazon said it will pilot Proteus now and expects to begin deploying the new model across European centres in the first half of 2027, with complementary systems STARK and Vulcan scheduled to expand to multiple sites through 2027.
- The company pledged to grow its European fulfilment workforce by about 25,000 roles and to commit $1 billion to its Career Choice upskilling program through 2030 to train maintenance, engineering and robotics technicians.
- The plan renews debate over automation and jobs because leaked internal documents and recent corporate layoffs have suggested automation can reduce hiring needs even as Amazon argues robots will shift workers into higher‑skilled roles and create new technical jobs.