JD.com founder Richard Liu is putting a blunt timeline on the future of delivery work: once robots are ready, many couriers may no longer be needed.
Speaking at the 2026 APEC CEO Forum in Beijing, Liu said delivery workers would become “basically no longer needed” once robotic delivery systems mature, according to the Financial Times. But JD.com is not framing the shift as a simple job-cutting plan. The company says it is working with schools in China to retrain employees for technical roles inside its own operations.
The tension is whether retraining can keep pace with automation at JD.com’s scale, where hundreds of thousands of workers could eventually find themselves in the path of robots.
Inside JD.com’s workforce
To understand the scale of Liu’s remarks, it helps to look at JD.com’s workforce.
According to European Business Magazine, JD.com employed more than 900,000 people as of March 31, 2026. About 700,000 of them work in delivery and frontline logistics, putting automation directly in the path of one of the company’s largest labor groups.
Unlike many competitors, the company relies less on outsourced contractors and keeps much of its operations in-house.
For a company of that size, automation is more than a cost-saving measure; it is a major operational strategy.
Preparing workers for automation
While Liu was direct about the future of delivery work, he proposed a plan focused on retraining rather than immediate layoffs.
Under this plan, delivery workers will receive training for roles in robot maintenance and servicing. European Business Magazine also said the initiative will create 183 new frontline role types. However, it remains unclear whether those positions will be enough to absorb workers displaced by automation.
Liu’s comments align with a broader debate in China
Liu's remarks also come as Chinese authorities take a closer look at how companies deploy AI in the workplace.
The Financial Times, citing data from the China New Employment Forms Research Center, reported that China is expected to have about 320 million gig workers this year, up from 200 million five years ago. At the same time, youth unemployment stood at 16.3% in April, highlighting the potential consequences of any large-scale job displacement.
That concern is already finding its way into courtrooms. In one recent case, a Chinese court reportedly ordered compensation for a worker who was dismissed after refusing a demotion and pay cut tied to AI-driven restructuring.
JD.com now faces the challenge of balancing automation with Liu’s promise. For other companies, the initiative could become either a model to follow or a cautionary tale, depending on how successful JD.com’s attempt proves.
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