AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-3022.00
Will AI replace Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers?
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 12 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 12 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Process primal parts into cuts that are ready for retail use. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prepare ready-to-heat foods by filleting meat or fish or cutting it into bite-sized pieces, preparing and adding vegetables or applying sauces or breading. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean, trim, slice, and section carcasses for future processing. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove parts, such as skin, feathers, scales or bones, from carcass. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Obtain and distribute specified meat or carcass. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Produce hamburger meat and meat trimmings. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean and salt hides. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 12 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 12 of 12. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 9% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 9% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 92% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 145,700
- Median annual wage
- $38,300
- Middle half of earners
- $35,350 to $44,170
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +5.5%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Butchers and Meat Cutters 80% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure24
- Slaughterers and Meat Packers 79% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure20
- Cutters and Trimmers, Hand 71% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure15
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure26
- Fishing and Hunting Workers 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure22
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers and AI
Will AI replace Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers?
Not on current evidence. None of the 12 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 15 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.
What is the AI exposure of Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers?
15 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 12 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 12 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat, at 20 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 9% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 92% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers, and what do they earn?
145,700 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $38,300 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +5.5% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/meat-poultry-and-fish-cutters-and-trimmers
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