How over is it?

A mood ring wired to real instruments

AI exposure Production

Will AI replace slaughterers and meat packers?

Slaughterers and Meat Packers. US occupation 51-3023.

0.0%

of the time slaughterers and meat packers spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of slaughterers and meat packers' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 346 of 756 US occupations. No AI use seen in the work yet, along with 410 other occupations.No handover started yet, along with 410 other occupations.

Average US job 7.7%

Among the least exposed jobs there are.Still waiting for liberation.

What AI already does for slaughterers and meat packersWhat slaughterers and meat packers no longer do alone

O*NET lists 14 tasks for slaughterers and meat packers. None of them shows meaningful AI use at work yet.

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

14 of the 14 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.
  • Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products.
  • Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing.
  • Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.
  • Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering.
  • Shackle hind legs of animals to raise them for slaughtering or skinning.
Show the other 8
  • Shave or singe and defeather carcasses, and wash them in preparation for further processing or packaging.
  • Skin sections of animals or whole animals.
  • Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.
  • Stun animals prior to slaughtering.
  • Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
  • Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls.
  • Trim, clean, or cure animal hides.
  • Wrap dressed carcasses or meat cuts.

How that compares

Among the 98 production occupations, slaughterers and meat packers rank 87. The group averages 0.8%, and its most exposed job is Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers at 12.1%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Level with 0.0%

  1. 346Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs 0.0%
  2. 346Signal and Track Switch Repairers 0.0%
  3. 346Skincare Specialists 0.0%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.