Amazon is testing a new robotic system aimed at increasing delivery speed.

Amazon announced Wednesday the deployment of a new robotic system that would speed up delivery in preparation for this year's holiday shopping season.

The technology, known as Sequoia, is presently in use at one of Amazon's fulfillment sites in Houston. According to the business, it can detect and store inventory up to 75% faster than the present system and cut processing time by up to 25%. Its purpose is to expand the amount of items accessible for Same-Day or Next-Day delivery.

The risk of injuries will be reduced by implementing a system that reduces the amount of time employees have to reach above their heads or squat down to lift orders, according to Amazon. According to the union coalition Strategic Organizing Center, there were 6.6 serious injuries for every 100 Amazon workers in 2022. In comparison, non-Amazon facilities experienced 3.2 major injuries for every 100 workers, according to the coalition's analysis.

Amazon will also begin testing Digit, a bipedal robot capable of grasping goods in warehouse nooks. It will first assist personnel with tote recycling, which is the time-consuming operation of picking up and transferring empty totes once inventory has been removed from them.

While Amazon's statement did not specify if the new technology will result in layoffs, it did state that robotic systems developed over the last decade had produced hundreds of thousands of employment that did not previously exist.

In Wednesday afternoon trade, Amazon was down more than 2%.