JD.com’s Founder Vows to Protect 900,000 Jobs from AI; Warehouse Strategy Raises Questions
May 28, 2026 – 9:11 am
Liu Qiangdong, the founder of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, pledged in an internal speech this week to safeguard the company’s 900,000-strong workforce from AI and robotics, according to a Bloomberg report (based on a video circulating on Chinese social media). He stated that JD.com would "do everything possible to safeguard employment… including blue-collar workers," even as it speeds up the implementation of AI and autonomous logistics across its operations.
This vow stands in contrast to Liu’s previous statements. In 2025, at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, he argued that the coming “unmanned era” might require people to work only one hour a week, and governments should tax tech monopolies heavily to fund social programs. He also announced plans for the world’s first fully unmanned delivery station in 2026, integrating drones, autonomous vehicles, and robots for home deliveries.
Liu’s public statements have been inconsistent: oscillating between "automation will replace most jobs" and a more recent commitment to job protection. The operational reality shows that JD.com has been a pioneer in warehouse robotics, with a fully automated warehouse handling 200,000 orders daily using just four human employees.
The 900,000 employees Liu now promises to protect are a relic of JD’s past as a labor-intensive operation, rather than a forward-looking strategy for the role of human workers in the company.