WEBVTT - Taper and Timetable Are Key Issues for FOMC 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:04.440 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Karl Masser and I'm 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.280 Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stanovk. We're here every day bringing 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:09.840 you the latest news from the world to business and finance, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.680 plus technology, politics, economics, all purtnising the power of Business 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:17.159 Week reporters and editors, not to mention our journalists and 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:20.000 analysts in more than one twenty countries. You can download 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.479 Bloomberg Business Weekend iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot Com. You 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:25.439 can also listen to our radio show at two pm 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:27.880 Eastern Time on the Bloomberg Radio or watch us on 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:33.560 YouTube search Bloomberg Clovel News. We continue to break um 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:37.000 or deal with, you know, outbreaks and some progress and 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:40.120 then some setbacks, Doctor Randa Meadows. Though Tim is present 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:42.839 population health over at Providence Health System, one of the 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:45.319 largest nonprofit health systems in the US, and you might 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:48.200 remember they were home to the first confirmed COVID case 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:52.080 back in early so we really appreciate their perspective, she 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.160 joins us on the phone and Rent in Washington. Doctor Meadows, 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:57.760 good to have you back with Tim and myself. How 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:01.160 are you and what are you guys seeing there out west? 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:04.480 When it comes to COVID. It's great to be back 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:06.960 with you. And what we are seeing is we still 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.400 have some areas of spikes. Surge is still occurring, like 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:14.600 in eastern Washington, Montana, and Alaska. But thankfully we're seeing 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.880 a little bit of plateauing in California as well as 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:21.080 in parts of our Again, Washington seems to be fairly 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:24.040 stable as well. We're not over the hump, but it's 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:27.080 over seeing a little bit Doctor Meadows Daylight coming true. 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:30.480 Just to confirm are these outbreaks? Are these happening in 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:38.000 unvaccinated populations? Predominantly unvaccinated or small percent are vaccinated? Is 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:41.960 that most of the let's can say the few that 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:45.120 I think our breakthrough vaccinated or usually people don't remune 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:50.600 compromise or other chronic illnesses behind them, um, but mostly unvaccinated. 0:01:51.000 --> 0:01:53.360 And are you right now? Where are you right now? 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:56.400 Falling when it comes to to boosters and what you're 0:01:56.400 --> 0:01:59.240 seeing as far as people coming in who want boosters 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:03.160 or guide it's coming from a doctor's about who should 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:07.120 get a booster. So we're saying a lot of questions 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:09.760 and inquiries coming in and we are actually sharing with 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.600 them what we know, UM, including the most recent announcement 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:18.240 coming about the FDA Panel of Advisors recommending boosters for 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:21.480 people who are be ncompromised. We're waiting for their final 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.080 word on people who are over the age of sixty 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:28.600 five getting it, who are otherwise healthy. UM patients are 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:30.520 asking about it. You know, It's it's kind of a 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:34.400 mixed bag depending on which community you're in. Some anxious 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:36.440 to get it and some still are waiting to get 0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:38.280 the first shot. I'm like, poke me as much as 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:40.240 you want. I got my shot this morning. I'm like, 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:44.240 um no, but it is. It is important, and I 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:47.880 do wonder we keep reminding doctor Meadows, you understand this 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.840 so well about the importance of community and so the 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.360 importance of individuals who don't even have a first shot 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:56.000 of getting a first shot of making sure the developing 0:02:56.000 --> 0:03:00.320 world is getting vaccinated, because we can't move forward as 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:05.160 a global society and community unless most people get some 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:08.880 form of vaccination right or some kind of immunity. You 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:12.600 are absolutely correct. If we leave anybody uncoverage, it becomes 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:15.760 a hot spot that they convince spread. It's also a 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:19.040 hot spot for mutations to occur. So everybody needs to 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:21.920 get it. So I am curious, are we? There was 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:23.720 something I was reading or listening to this morning that 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:26.800 I think was looking at China specifically, how maybe they 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:28.960 are they shut down kind of their cities. I mean, 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:32.000 are we? I mean, this is it, this is how 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:35.920 it's going to be moving forward. I mean, you can't 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:38.680 convince maybe everybody to get a vaccine. We kind of 0:03:38.680 --> 0:03:41.800 know that already. Um So, are we going to be 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.880 constantly in a state of we'll see some COVID outbreaks, 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:48.480 people would be getting boosters. I don't know. Like that's 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:51.360 what I'm trying to understand. You know, I think, first 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:52.960 of all, I think it's too early to tell, but 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:54.400 I can tell you that I'm going to agree with 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:56.680 you that I hope certainly not. I think what's going 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:59.560 to happen as well, we'll slowly but surely convinced more 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:03.000 people to get the vaccine. Um, the people who actually 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:06.119 have gotten sick from COVID may now become our best 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:10.400 folkespeople from encouraging their family and communities to do it. Um. 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:12.280 But I don't think this is going to continue just 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:16.400 forever if that's not the way that vaccines and pandemics work. 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:19.120 Um So, I think what we're going to find is 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:21.359 that we're going to see the count's starting to go 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.800 down again closer coming into December, unless another new variant 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:27.839 comes up, UM, and I think eventually over the next 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:29.560 couple of years it will start to blend in a 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:31.920 little bit more. So. You just mentioned you got your 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:34.760 flu vaccine. There may be a time when we're getting 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:40.279 a flu vaccine and a COVID mixed together combination vaccine yesterday. 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:43.159 I will do that yesterday. Dr Meadows. As a parent, 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.520 what should we know about or how concerned should we 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:48.080 be about about kids? What are you seeing in the 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.240 Providence health system when it comes to kids who are 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:53.480 severely all those who don't even have the chance right 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:56.240 now to get vaccinated because they're not old enough. We're 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:58.719 seeing an increase in the number of children who not 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.680 only are testing positive of but even because it's the 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:04.760 magnitude of the number of people are exposed, including children, 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:08.160 we're seeing more kids coming into our hospitals and becoming 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:11.480 more s really ill. Thankfully, Um, the mortality or death 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:14.760 rates from them is still relatively low. But I gotta 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:17.360 tell you, if it's just one kid and it's my kid, 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:22.320 that's way too many. Agreed. To put that out there. Agreed, agreed, Um, 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:24.040 talk to Meadows. Sit tight. We just have to do 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:25.680 a little bit of news. But we will come back 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:27.760 and I would love to continue with you. Dr Ronda 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:31.600 Meadows is our guest president of Population Health at Providence 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:35.280 Health System, joining us on the phone from Wenton, Washington. 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:36.600 Are you just kind of waiting? I mean you have 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:38.680 a little one. Yeah, we do. So. Part of the 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:40.560 reason I was off over the last week is because 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.760 he started preschool, so we did. It's like a phase 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:45.800 and thing all parents are familiar with this when kids 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:49.080 start preschool. You know they're they're going into an hour 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:51.000 and a half and eventually you know a few hours 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:53.560 and then all day. Um. But you know, he's not 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:55.120 keeping his mask on. He's two and a half. He's 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:56.800 not he's supposed to wear a mask at school. Not 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:58.880 keeping his mask on, But who can blame him, he's 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:00.160 two and a half. He's two and a half. It's 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.640 not required at the school. They's suggested, but you can't 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:04.599 really require it to an aff yeal to wear masks, 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:06.919 right exactly right there, little critters, And like, so what 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:09.479 do you do? So are you kind of bracing? Yeah? 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:12.960 Well so they do weekly tests, which is great. The kids. Yeah, 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:15.840 the kids. Yeah, it's very hard to teach it to 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:22.000 year old how to spit. But then I learned how 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:23.920 to do it and it just doesn't stop. Yeah. Great, 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:27.480 Probably stay tuned. All right, folks, we're gonna come back 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:29.440 with Dr Meadows in just a moment talking about the 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:32.120 day's latest COVID headlines. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week. 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:35.080 I'm Carol Masser, my co host Tim Stanovic. This is 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:39.120 Bloomberg Radio. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:43.640 Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stenovic on Bloomberg Radio. 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:46.400 All right, let's get back to Dr Ronda Meadows. She's 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:50.080 President of Population Health at Providence Health System. Still with 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:53.800 us on the phone and written Washington. So one of 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:58.760 the things that we've certainly seen as society stressed, we've 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:02.320 seen healthcare workers stressed. Uh, Dr Meadows, what are you 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:07.039 seeing on that front? So absolutely not just stressed, but 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:11.600 exhausted and um and dismayed by by some of the 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:14.080 contempt that they feel for the very people they're trying 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:18.600 to help. UM. So, our cases are increasing, our hospitalizations, 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:20.320 What do you mean What do you mean by that? 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:23.520 What do you mean on account you know? Oh, actually 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:27.360 what I need is UM. Not only are people that 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:29.920 are on vaccity becoming end to seeking care, but those 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:32.160 some of those same people are standing outside of our 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:38.840 hospitals who are protesting against vaccinations. UM. They get letters 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:41.840 left on the on their car shield when they come 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.880 out from a long shift working the emergency room or 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:49.040 in the hospital. UM, they see the social media UM 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:52.920 disparaging comments against them what they're trying to do. So 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.840 it's not just about the vaccine. It's basically about their 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:58.800 efforts to try to help people and say people and 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:03.480 promote the science getting a vaccine, reducing the transmission and 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:06.400 reducing the number of people who need hospital care. On 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:08.400 the first place, Well, we live in a world of 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:11.120 scarce resources, and one narrative that has emerged over the 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:13.120 last few weeks has been the way that I see 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:15.360 use in certain parts of the country have filled up, 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.320 and you see percentages in the high nineties in some 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:20.200 places in the past few weeks, and I wonder about 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:22.920 the decisions that doctors have to make about, Okay, who 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:25.960 is able to use this scarce resource that we have, 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:28.920 whether it's UH, you know a certain number of of 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:32.160 nurses per patient, um or a certain number of patients 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:34.400 per nurse, And I'm wondering what goes through a doctor's 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:38.480 head when they have to make those decisions. Well, first, 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:40.680 I can tell you that the doctors aren't making the 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:44.440 decisions alone. We are actually actually a well prepared to 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:46.960 try to make the decision. They're still hard, um. I 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:49.280 think what you're referring to is will we go to 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:51.960 a crisis standard of care when we're trying to make 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.840 a decision about what little resources, how will we use 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:57.400 them as we will we use them for and what so? 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:00.600 How do we decide that kind of stuff? You know, 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:02.240 you don't want to be in a position where you're 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.640 having to ration care, but that's where we are in 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:07.679 some places. And Tim, I want to tell you it's 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:11.160 not just about rationing care, but people who are being 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:16.640 treated for COVID's rationing resources for anybody who needs that ventilator, 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:20.559 oxygen therapy. The doctors are nurses. That's what I mean. 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:25.280 Frustrating to patients and to caregivers if people who are 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:29.000 using resources that essentially don't need to be there, People 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.480 who could have been vaccinated and wouldn't even be in 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.199 the hospital and perhaps are making it more difficult on 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:37.679 patients you have a heart attack or some other emergency condition. 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:42.160 You're absolutely right, and we see that and we feel it. 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:45.760 And for the most part, I think our doctors, nurses, 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:48.880 caregivers that are in the they're trying their best to 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:52.840 do what they can, but they're only human. Well, we 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:56.720 wish you luck exactly, um, and that's something we need 0:09:56.840 --> 0:10:00.880 to remember in terms of what's going on today, what's 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:03.920 going on tomorrow, and we really appreciate getting another glimpse 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:06.440 of what you are seeing. Dr Rhonda Meadows stay Safety Well, 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:09.920 President of Population Health at Providence Health System, as you 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:14.720 might recall, home to the first COVID nineteen case confirmed 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:17.360 back in January. She joined us on the phone from 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:21.880 written Washington. That's tough. It's something we're approaching the two 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:24.520 year mark as to where you know, when COVID was 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:26.679 circulating around the world in the United States, and it's 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.199 just it's mind boggling to two years. Two years and 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:33.240 I know, like my daughter's gone back to school, she's 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:36.440 in college now, and they have a vaccination policy, but 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:38.679 they gave some leeway of kids to get vaccines after 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:41.160 they came back to school, and there are cases coming 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:43.079 out and they're keeping kids in classes, but they're trying to, 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:45.160 you know, trying to make it work, but it's tough 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:50.199 in masks and class masks and class many closed place yep, yep. 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:52.240 And there is a vaccine mandate, but again they were 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:54.640 allowing kids to kind of get vaccines. So far, so good, 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:56.680 So far, so good, but there are there are cases 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:59.959 that that are definitely breaking out. This is Bloomberg Big 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:03.199 to This Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick takes 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:07.240 Tim Stenovic on Bloomberg Radio. Well, the upcoming sooner than 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:09.840 you think issue Bloomberg Business This Week out later this week. 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.240 Already though on the Bloomberg and at business week dot Com. 0:11:13.240 --> 0:11:16.400 It's a story that takes us Tim inside Amazon's flagship 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:20.640 fulfillment center outside Seattle, and it's all about algorithms and robots. 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:23.439 They rule sooner than you think. They're here already. Joe 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:25.520 Weber is editor at Bloomberg Business Week. He's with us 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.880 in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker Studio. Matt Dave is technology reporter. 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:30.840 He wrote the story. He's with Bloomberg News and he 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:34.120 joins us on the phone from Seattle. Uh, Joel, what 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:38.359 is so special about this one fulfillment center that Matt profiles. 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:42.560 So it's outside Seattle, and it has the reputation of 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:45.280 being a flagship sort of almost like a like a 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:46.960 test lab. I guess you could think of it as 0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:49.160 And I think part of that is just, you know, 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:53.520 proximity to h Q. You can get those executives, executives 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:55.600 coming by and saying, hey, in a second, how do 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:58.240 you guys do things here? But what they've really done, 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:00.840 you know, the significance of this is that this was 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:03.720 the first fulfillment sale center that was able to process 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.600 more than a million packages a day, and so obviously 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:09.000 that you know, once they optimized that, it was like 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:11.360 what else can we take it? Um And And the 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:14.280 secret to that, though, as Matt has revealed, is that 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:18.200 there's a lot of algorithms. There's a few robots, and 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:22.040 the humans work for all of them, right, Matt, Yeah, 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:24.600 that's right. Honestly, the starting point for this story, I 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:26.600 met a guy who used to work at Amazon, went 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:29.000 and jump somewhere else and he said, Man, I'm doing 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:30.920 so many things that I never had to do back 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:33.320 when I was at an Amazon warehouse. They just automated 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.840 all of that for me. Well, tell us more as 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:40.240 you walk um BF I four, which is this massive 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:45.600 fulfillment center outside uh Seattle, tell us about it. Did 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:48.240 you go visit? I did, Yeah, And it's the place 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:50.240 I've been a couple of times over over the years 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:52.920 writing about Amazon. You know, as Joel said, they'd love 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:54.680 to have folks in for tours. They're really proud of 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:59.080 the facility. It's just a big excurban rectangle beside the 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.560 fifteen football yield. Go in and there's this kind of 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:03.920 low hum. But the weird thing for me is it's 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:06.559 kind of quiet. Everybody's sort of in their own station. 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:09.560 You know, most people, probably by number, are are putting 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:11.839 something in a shelf um that's brought to them by 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.240 a robot, or recreating something from a shelf and sending 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:16.680 on down the line. Um. You know, a couple of 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:20.640 thousand people a day just you know, doing roughly most 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:22.720 of them the same task over and over again, whether 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:24.800 it's picking something off the shelf, putting in a package, 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:28.040 and taking orders from from a smartphone app all time. 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:31.000 What does your instinct tell you about a facility? Like 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:32.640 this when you walk inside it and you see it, 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:34.720 does it seem like, given the number of packages it's 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:36.679 able to process a day, does it seem like more 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:40.000 people should be there? You know, it really does. Um 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:42.160 that the places there's a there's a low hum, but 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:43.920 it is kind of you really quiet, like you would 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:46.480 you would assume hearing figures like a million packages the day, 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:49.160 that there'll be more more frenzy. But Amazon's just got 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:51.360 it down to such a science that everyone's just sort of, 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:56.000 you know, quietly going about their business that at their station, um, 0:13:56.760 --> 0:13:59.640 quietly working for algorithms and robots. So what is the 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:03.680 hue to that they even told that? Well, it's it's 0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:07.240 you know, working an Amazon warehouses often an unpleasant place 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:11.079 and has been been widely reported. Um. Amazon's productivity tracking 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.800 systems are are real precise, right. They can tell when 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:17.040 you're working, They can tell when you put down the scanner, 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.240 you know, So if you're in one of these frontline jobs, 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:22.040 there's always this voice you know sometimes that it's just 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:26.520 literally account countdown clock on your workstation telling you, um, 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:28.040 you know, exactly what they expect you to be able 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.720 to do. And Amazon, the very aggressive company sets that 0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:33.640 target real high. Um. So that's that's the life for 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:35.520 the front line. But one of the things that interested me, 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:38.000 especially given that that story is so well known, as so, 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:40.320 what the heck the managers do in this construct? Right, 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.440 if if these people are working kind of self directed, 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:44.160 what what are the people you know, at the top 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:46.080 of the pyramid in a building like this, what do 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:47.760 they all do all day? Well, they get to manage 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:51.360 a lot more people, right, they do um and and 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:54.200 a lot of what they do is HR essentially. You know, 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:56.000 they're they're trying to take it the best set of people. 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:58.280 They're trying to troubleshoot when something goes wrong, you know, 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:01.200 just because again all of the soft where whizzes that 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:03.560 Amazon have taken taken things out of their hands, right, 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:07.000 they don't do um staffing planning at a at a 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:09.080 granular way. A lot of you know, warehouses in any 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.120 company will do right. Most places you go to work 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:13.000 and you know, the boss or the schedule tells you 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:15.720 where to go here, the schedule gripped up by by algorithm. Right, 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:17.880 there's just so much that's been taken off their shoulders 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:20.680 kind of with the aim of getting getting this this 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:24.160 thin line of managers to effectively manage thousands and thousands 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:26.720 of people. Um. So when you when you think about this, 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:30.560 actually just real basic question. What's b F I F 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:34.280 stand for? What? What is that? So it is a 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:37.400 reference to uh an airport in Seattle called Boeing Field. 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.800 Every every Amazon building across the country takes its name 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.720 from from whatever the regional airport is. Okay, So that 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:46.480 was a big question I forgot to ask during the 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:49.760 edity confessional. But is you get to know how the 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:54.440 sausages made? The other thing is you know, obviously this 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:56.840 is somewhat of a secret weapon for Amazon and is 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.560 allowed them to really become such a dominant company. But 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:05.160 how does this automation compare with you know, the Walmarts 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:09.320 and the targets of the world that that compete with them. 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:12.840 Folks are definitely closing the gap. Um. Amazon has you know, 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:14.960 built a lot of its technology, It's bought a lot 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:17.560 of its technology. We read about their their similar acquisition 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.080 of a little robot maker called Kiva back in twelve 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:22.400 that gave him a real big head start. Um. But 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:25.200 companies you know are imitating what Amazon does and they 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:28.480 are closing that gap, right Amazon's biggest advantage a few 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:30.720 years ago was getting things out of these buildings as 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:33.080 fast as they can. You know today they're looking for 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:35.480 for secrets also, well, just because you know, the targets 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:37.440 of the world, the Walmarts of the world are are 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:40.920 kind of taking their cues from Amazon's robotifizes fulfillment and 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:42.960 and put it in their own operations. Not from a 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:45.600 financial perspective, the ultimate goal for for any company that 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:47.840 has this many employees is to reduce the number of 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:51.720 employees because they're so expensive. Help us see into the 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:58.800 future and Amazon's ability to actually automate nearly everything. Amazon 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:02.160 has a set aside full automation as a long term goal. UM, 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:04.600 it's something there their technology teams and their roboticists are 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:06.840 working towards. I think realistically they don't see that as 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.200 practical for a long long time. UM, but that doesn't 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:12.560 mean they can't get savings along the way, right We 0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:15.080 We talked to some folks who had insight into their 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:18.480 key acquisition and said they saved something like on labor 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:21.640 costs in the first implementations of their Their robots come 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:25.320 to people, um operating methods. So there's there's definitely a 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:27.920 lot of costs that that Amazon can look to reduce, 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:30.640 you know, without going kind of that that dream of 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:32.920 of a fully automated to samably that doesn't require any 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:37.840 any humans at all. So how much better has this 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:40.720 stuff gotten with with practice in time? Is there any 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:44.520 sense of that? We do know that how to call it? 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:46.080 In a in a five or six year period, they 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.320 were maybe three times as fast, right, it's date of 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:50.720 the art. Warehouse um, you know, roughly a decade ago 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.080 was doing something like three hundred thousand items a day, 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:55.720 as you mentioned, kicking us off, this facility can do 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:58.159 a million plus that that stat though I put an 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:00.160 afteriston that's getting a couple of years old now out, 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:02.320 So it would not surprise me at all of Amazon 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:04.800 is setting a new threshold and just just isn't quite 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:06.359 ready to brack about it yet. All right, So to 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:11.000 be feared or imitated or both, oh, certainly both depending 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:12.760 on depending on your line of work. But yeah, they've 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:15.920 definitely reshaped warehousing in their image with this kind of technology. 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.480 It's an incredible read. Um that day. Thank you tech 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:21.199 reporter at Bloomberg News joining us from Seattle, Joe Weber 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:23.639 in our interactive Broker Studio. But I think it's interesting 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:27.400 because I think we expect robots and automation to take 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:30.159 some of the lower level jobs, but it sounds like 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:33.919 you'll need fewer, maybe higher paying managers also in the 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:36.560 process if other companies start to follow what Amazon's doing, 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:40.359 and I think it's like inevitable that other companies will write, 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:43.240 like if you're three hundred thousand packages a day to 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:45.639 a million, it's like, how do I get that? How 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:47.120 do I get that? And how do I reduce costs 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:50.760 in the process? All right, sound of the future. Alright, 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:52.880 we gotta run. Joe Webber, thank you so much. Check 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:55.240 this out sooner than you think. That's the upcoming issue 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:59.160 of Bloomberg Business Week magazine. You are listening to Bloomberg Radio. 0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:07.919 You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:12.520 Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim Stinovik on Bloomberg Radio. So the 0:19:12.720 --> 0:19:15.120 f O m C FED will reserve Open Market Committee, 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:17.280 kicking off its two day meeting today, decision we know 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:20.240 expected tomorrow. Fed officials Tim expected to hold interest rates 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:23.840 near zero while telegraphing tapering of the FEDS and twenty 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:27.240 billion dollars in monthly bond purchases in that policy statement 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:30.320 that we get at two pm Wall Street time tomorrow. 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:33.520 But of interest, of course, as always j Pal's press conference, 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:35.120 what he has to say about some of the concerns 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:40.080 on investors minds Evergrand COVID, debt ceilings, inflation, jobs que 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:43.280 on that subject bridge words, Ray Dalio caught up with 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:46.800 our Tom Keene earlier today and Dahlia saying another round 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:49.800 of quantitative easy yep, another round none out of the question. 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:55.040 I think we're going to get another round every another 0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:58.440 round of q QUEI. You're predicting another round of QUEI, 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:01.680 not immediately. I think that what happens is you get 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:05.640 a taper. I think like every tightening of interest rates 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:09.240 has been less than the one before it, since and 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:12.040 now when we had zero, then we did kwei, and 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:15.600