Use hand or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.
U.S. Workers
141,090
Median Salary
$37,700
10-Year Growth
+5.5%
Annual Openings
18,400
Typical entry: No formal educational credential
13 of 13 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.
AI: Fully automatable - Weighing and labeling are precise, repeatable tasks already fully automatable with integrated scales and labeling systems.
Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.
AI: Fully automatable - Sorting into containers and sealing is a routine packaging operation that is reliably automated with robotics and conveyors in industrial settings.
Prepare sausages, luncheon meats, hot dogs, and other fabricated meat products, using meat trimmings and hamburger meat.
AI: Fully automatable - Industrial mixing, grinding, stuffing and packaging for sausages and similar products are already highly automated and can be AI-controlled end-to-end.
Produce hamburger meat and meat trimmings.
AI: Fully automatable - Producing hamburger meat and trimmings is largely handled by grinders and automated trimming equipment in modern processing lines.
Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
AI: Partial - Fixed, repetitive cuts and power-saw operations are automatable, but manual knife work and complex trimming requiring fine dexterity remain only partially automatable in 2025.
Process primal parts into cuts that are ready for retail use.
AI: Partial - Processing primal parts into diverse retail cuts involves complex decision-making and dexterous cutting patterns that are only partially automated by 2025.
Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
AI: Partial - Computer vision can detect many visible defects and guide trimming robots, but complete inspection and selective removal of blemishes and excess fat still need human-level judgment and dexterity.
Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
AI: Partial - Standardized trimming for packing can be automated, but varied cuts and adaptive trimming for quality require human skill, so automation is partial.
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.
AI: Partial - Assembly-line tasks like breading and adding sauces are automatable, but filleting and delicate preparation of meat or fish still often require human skill, so the capability is partial.
Clean, trim, slice, and section carcasses for future processing.
AI: Partial - Rough carcass splitting and heavy-duty slicing can be mechanized, but the full set of cleaning, trimming and sectional work needed for future processing remains only partially automatable.
Remove parts, such as skin, feathers, scales or bones, from carcass.
AI: Partial - De-feathering, scaling and some mechanical skinning exist, but variability and delicate manual removal of certain parts still require human skill.
Obtain and distribute specified meat or carcass.
AI: Partial - Conveyors and automated material-handling systems can distribute carcasses, but selecting and routing specified individual carcasses often needs human oversight due to variability.
Clean and salt hides.
AI: Partial - Washing and brining hides can be mechanized, but complete cleaning, inspection and proper salting still frequently require manual handling and judgment.