Waste management eliminates thousands of jobs in the next 12 months. The environmental service company plans to rely more on automation and technology instead of physical work.
Several WM works that have been released will not be completed, According to Kelly KaplanSenior director of external communications. In total, 5,000 positions will be reduced by next year.
“Our average heavy equipment operator is 53 years old. It becomes difficult to find people to drive a truck or work on heavy equipment, ”said CEO of Jim Fish waste management on CNBC “Mad Money.” “So, it is almost out of necessity that we use technology to replace the roles that are difficult to hire.”
However, the elimination of employment functions does not mean that the company dismissals someone. The fish have noted on the show that many positions have a high working rate, which means that the jobs are eliminated by attrition. When someone leaves one of these jobs, waste management simply does not hire a replacement.
Some roles – especially those working at the back of the truck – have a rolling rate of up to 50%, according to Fish.
Savings and innovation plans for waste management
Not to enhance for certain vacant posts is part of the aggressive waste management plan to reduce costs. The goal is to save $ 450 million. All money saved will be reinvested in energy factories and returned to shareholders as a profit.
Over the next few years, WM plans to invest for another half a billion dollars in artificial intelligence and an improvement in logistics. Some companies like Binit, already revolutionize waste management with the integration of AI.
Last month, waste management indicated that income has increased 13% to $ 5.89 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. Annual income jumped 8%, reaching $ 22.06 billion.
According to Fish, several factors have played a role in the success of WM, in particular with the recent acquisitions of the company. STERICYCLE, specializing in medical waste services and destruction of secure information, was acquired by waste management for just over $ 7 billion in 2024, opening up new opportunities for WM.
Currently, waste management employs 48,000 full -time people global. We do not know what jobs are eliminated, but speculations suggest that most trucking stations and various roles in the recycling factories will be left by technology.