AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-3023.00
Will AI replace Slaughterers and Meat Packers?
Slaughterers and Meat Packers: AI can already handle 1 of 14 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 14 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Slaughterers and Meat Packers, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Shackle hind legs of animals to raise them for slaughtering or skinning. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Stun animals prior to slaughtering. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Skin sections of animals or whole animals. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Shave or singe and defeather carcasses, and wash them in preparation for further processing or packaging. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Trim, clean, or cure animal hides. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Wrap dressed carcasses or meat cuts. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 14 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 14 of 14. 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 7% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 7% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 93% 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
- 69,950
- Median annual wage
- $40,130
- Middle half of earners
- $36,150 to $46,870
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +2.2%
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 79% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure24
- Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers 79% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure15
- Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals 60% skill overlap, about 15 months to move Exposure16
- Packers and Packagers, Hand 60% skill overlap, about 15 months to move Exposure28
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 59% skill overlap, about 15 months to move Exposure26
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Slaughterers and Meat Packers and AI
Will AI replace Slaughterers and Meat Packers?
AI already handles 1 of the 14 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 20 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. BLS projects employment to change by +2.2% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Slaughterers and Meat Packers?
20 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 14 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 14 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Slaughterers and Meat Packers tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 7% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 93% 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 Slaughterers and Meat Packers, and what do they earn?
69,950 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $40,130 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +2.2% 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: Slaughterers and Meat Packers. 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/slaughterers-and-meat-packers
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