Hiring for drone teams soars at Amazon, Google, and Uber

Thinknum ^ | September 6, 2019 | Joshua Fruhlinger

[2ndDivisionVet]

If there's one thing that set Amazon ($NASDAQ:AMZN) apart from its rivals and paved Jeff Bezos and co's path for e-commerce dominance, it was the company's ability to get items into the hands of its customers faster than anyone else and without significant cost. What was once the main reason to go to an actual store — isntant gratification and lack of delivery fees — became a non-factor. Need kitty litter before the weekend? Amazon Prime has it at your doorstep by the time Mittens has time to make too much of a mess.

But it's the final mile — actually putting the product into the hands of customers rather than relying on third-party logistics companies — that's keeping executives awake at night at Amazon. The company hopes to do so with a fleet of drones that it projects will get products to customers in the space of an hour. But Amazon isn't alone in this effort: Google ($NASDAQ:GOOG) and Uber ($NYSE:UBER) both want a piece of the drone-delivery action and, just like Amazon, they're hiring up teams to make it so, with some slightly different cargo in mind.

Amazon Air to airlift your package

Amazon's "Prime Air" division has been taking shape for some time now. In fact, it was announced by Bezos himself in 2013 and officially founded in 2016. Amazon expects to begin operations in select cities beginning this year.

[Brilliant]

I hope the drones are made here and not in China.

[bgill]

First time one drops something on my roof, I’m suing.

[gaijin]

UPS has teamed up with Mercedes; they’re doing something similar.

Something like there’s a yuge fan crammed with stuff that lumbers out to some hub location, then drones take off from the roof of that thing, delivering outward from a central rally location.

[gaijin]

yuge VAN, mercedes van, not fat.

Sorry.

[catnipman]

“Hiring for drone teams soars at Amazon, Google, and Uber”

yeah, from 50 to 200 ...