Saw a robot arm restocking shelves at a Kroger in Columbus last Friday, and half the crew there loved it, half looked ready to quit

Ruby Jones · 2026-10-06T14:45:04.041501+00:00

I was picking up a prescription at the Kroger on High Street in Columbus last Friday and watched a robot arm pull canned soup off a cart and load it onto the shelf for about 20 minutes. The store manager standing nearby said it handles 400 cases a night now, which used to be two people's whole shift. One worker stocking nearby laughed and said it saves his back, but another one just shook his head and walked off when I asked what he thought. Is this stuff actually making jobs better, or are we just watching the slow version of getting replaced? Curious what people here think, especially anyone who's seen these things up close.

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Saw a robot arm restocking shelves at a Kroger in Columbus last Friday, and half the crew there loved it, half looked ready to quit | AI Innovations - Thought Shares