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AI and jobs

Will AI Replace Meat? (2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places meat in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +5.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 17,000 openings a year.

Short answer

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average.

BLS AI exposure
ModerateBLS EP supplemental table
AI-resilience score
56/100Higher than 75% of jobs · NueCareer
Projected change
+5.7%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
Openings a year
17,000BLS EP 2025–2035

The federal measure

How exposed meat are to AI

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Meat land in the moderate category: below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not.

Where this job sits on the BLS scale

786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each

  1. Low203 occupations · 26%
  2. Moderate · this job194 occupations · 25%
  3. High190 occupations · 24%
  4. Very high199 occupations · 25%

Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.

  1. Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
  2. BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
  3. The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.

Inside the work

What AI can and cannot do in this job

O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.

What holds up

Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work

  • Handling and moving objects4.2/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Hands-on work with tools and objects4.6/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Performing general physical activities3.7/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Time spent on your feet5.0/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level

What AI reaches first

Routine, repeatable and screen-based work

  • Repetitive motions4.8/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Processing information3.9/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Getting information4.3/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Repeating the same tasks3.5/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level

The tasks O*NET lists for meat

  • Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
  • Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
  • Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
  • Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.
  • Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.

O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.

The jobs

Will there still be jobs?

Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +5.7% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 17,000 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 145,700 people work in the job today, at a median of $38,300 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Full meat, poultry, and fish cutter and trimmer profile: pay by state, entry route and skills

Options

Related careers less exposed to AI than meat

Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a lower exposure category.

  1. Stone Cutter and Carver, Manufacturing

    Production

    Median pay
    $46,170median a year
    Growth
    +5.8%
    Openings / yr
    5,100
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    70/100
    resilience

    Cut or carve stone according to diagrams and patterns.

  2. Cabinetmaker and Bench Carpenter

    Production

    Median pay
    $46,680median a year
    Growth
    −2.9%
    Openings / yr
    6,900
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    59/100
    resilience

    Cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products.

  3. Paper Goods Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender

    Production

    Median pay
    $50,270median a year
    Growth
    −3.6%
    Openings / yr
    9,000
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    58/100
    resilience

    Set up, operate, or tend paper goods machines that perform a variety of functions, such as converting, sawing, corrugating, banding, wrapping, boxing, stitching, forming, or sealing paper or paperboard sheets into pro…

  4. Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender

    Production

    Median pay
    $48,990median a year
    Growth
    −6.1%
    Openings / yr
    7,900
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    58/100
    resilience

    Set up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.

  5. Engine and Other Machine Assembler

    Production

    Median pay
    $53,710median a year
    Growth
    −17.0%
    Openings / yr
    2,100
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    58/100
    resilience

    Construct, assemble, or rebuild machines, such as engines, turbines, and similar equipment used in such industries as construction, extraction, textiles, and paper manufacturing.

  6. Helpers--Production Worker

    Production

    Median pay
    $39,070median a year
    Growth
    −8.2%
    Openings / yr
    20,900
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    57/100
    resilience

    Help production workers by performing duties requiring less skill.

Will AI replace production worker helpers?

Questions

Will AI Replace Meat? FAQ

Will AI replace meat?

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +5.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 17,000 openings a year.

How exposed are meat to AI?

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Meat are in the moderate category, alongside 193 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

What parts of a meat, poultry, and fish cutter and trimmer's job can AI do?

In O*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are repetitive motions, processing information and getting information. The parts that hold up best are handling and moving objects, hands-on work with tools and objects and performing general physical activities. These come from O*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

Is being a meat, poultry, and fish cutter and trimmer a safe career from AI?

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, meat score 56 out of 100, higher than 75% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $38,300 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

What careers similar to meat are less exposed to AI?

Stone Cutter and Carver, Manufacturing (low exposure, $46,170 median), Cabinetmaker and Bench Carpenter (low exposure, $46,680 median), Paper Goods Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender (low exposure, $50,270 median), Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender (low exposure, $48,990 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than meat, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.

The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.