UPS Buys Hundreds of Robots to Unload Trucks in Automation Push

United Parcel Service Inc. will invest $120 million in 400 robots used to unload trucks, according to people familiar with the matter, revealing new details on the logistics giant’s $9 billion automation plan that aims to boost profits by decreasing labor costs.

Unloading trucks and shipping containers at warehouse docks is mostly done by people and remains a key bottleneck in the shipping industry. The UPS order puts a spotlight on Pickle Robot Co., a Charlestown, Massachusetts-based startup already working with UPS that’s raised about $97 million since it began in 2018, according to Pitchbook.

Pickle makes a robotic ...