Will AI Cut Warehouse Jobs Or Drive Supply Chain Efficiencies?

A Gartner survey found supply chain executives are split on whether the arrival of AI-enabled automation will lead to headcount reductions, but still ranked AI innovation as the top influencer of the supply chain in coming years, beating out tariffs.

Gartner asked 509 supply chain leaders globally across industries, from July to October 2025, to rank five out of 15 drivers that have the potential to “reshape how you define, organize and operation supply chains” over the next two years.

The top response was “changes in ways of working driven by advancements in AI and Agentic AI,” cited by 51%; followed in the top three by “use of economic policy by governments as political tools,” 41%; and “deglobalization or regionalization driven by geopolitical and economic tensions,” at 38%.

More than half (55%) of the supply chain leaders expect that advancements in agentic AI will reduce the need to hire for entry-level positions, while 51% believe the technology will drive a shift to overall workforce reductions. A significantly wider majority (86%) agreed that the adoption of agentic AI will require new processes for developing future talent pipelines.

Gartner’s interviews with high-performing organizations further found significantly higher adoption of agentic AI, and that these firms are prioritizing upskilling talent, rather than headcount reduction.

“The highest performing supply chain organizations are using AI to reinvent how work gets done and how talent is developed. They are not treating AI as a blunt instrument for headcount reduction,” said Marco Sandrone, VP analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice. “The priority for chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) should be redesigning roles, skills, and workforce processes, so people and machines can create value together.”

AI Integration Into Supply Chain Maturing

A November 2025 study from Mecalux and MIT’s Intelligent Logistics Systems Lab, based on responses from more than 2,000 warehouse and supply chain leaders across 21 countries, found more than 90% of warehouses now use some form of AI or advanced automation -- and roughly 60% are operating at advanced maturity levels.

The study found AI now supports day-to-day workflows, including order picking and routing, inventory accuracy and slotting optimization, predictive maintenance, labor planning and performance monitoring, and safety and ergonomic risk detection.

The typical AI payback period was found to be two to three years, significantly faster than earlier automation investments.

“The data show that intelligent warehouses outperform not only in volume and accuracy, but in adaptability,” Mecalux CEO Javier Carrillo noted in the report.

Despite articles warning of extensive automation-caused job losses, the report indicated that more than three-quarters of surveyed organizations saw a rise in employee satisfaction after implementing AI. Over half increased their workforce size, driven by new roles such as AI/ML engineers, automation specialists, process-improvement experts, and data scientists.

The study still identified numerous barriers to supply chain teams taking full advantage of AI, including lack of technical expertise, poor data quality, integration challenges with legacy WMS and ERP systems, high upfront costs, and issues scaling pilots to multiple sites.