This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) founder Liu Qiangdong has moved to reassure investors and employees that the company’s automation push will not come at the expense of its massive workforce. In an internal speech on Wednesday, Liu said JD.com would do everything possible to protect jobs for its roughly 900,000 employees, including blue-collar workers, as the e-commerce giant expands its use of AI and robotics across its operations.
Liu said JD.com would not fire any front-line worker replaced by machines, a message that comes as the company experiments with unmanned warehouses, drone delivery, self-driving vehicles, unmanned delivery stations and convenience stores. The company has also established more than 80 training bases across China to help workers develop skills tied to maintaining and servicing automated systems, suggesting JD is trying to turn automation into a retraining story rather than a pure headcount-cutting story.
The timing is important for investors. Chinese companies are being pushed to accelerate AI adoption, but Beijing is also trying to protect labor-market stability as the economy slows and youth unemployment remains elevated. A Chinese court ruled in late April that companies cannot terminate workers or cut salaries simply to replace them with AI, while authorities last year required firms to retrain or reassign employees before termination. JD’s stance could possibly position the company as a more politically aligned AI and automation player, balancing efficiency ambitions with worker protection.