Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.
44,980 people do this job in the US. $46,570 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 7%
- 2%
- 91%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 7%. Today's estimate: 7%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 28 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 32% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Remove defective or substandard materials from machines, and readjust machine components so that products meet standards.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring devices, such as rulers, micrometers, or scales.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Start machines to verify setups, and make any necessary adjustments.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Stack and sort cut material for packaging, further processing, or shipping, according to types and sizes of material.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Review work orders, blueprints, specifications, or job samples to determine components, settings, and adjustments for cutting and slicing machines.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Monitor operation of cutting or slicing machines to detect malfunctions or to determine whether supplies need replenishment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Type instructions on computer keyboards, push buttons to activate computer programs, or manually set cutting guides, clamps, and knives.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Operate cranes, or signal crane operators to position or remove stone from cars or saw beds.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Maintain production records, such as quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Move stock or scrap to and from machines manually, or by using carts, handtrucks, or lift trucks.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Feed stock into cutting machines, onto conveyors, or under cutting blades, by threading, guiding, pushing, or turning handwheels.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing7% now, 7% by 2028
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
- Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders13% now, 14% by 2028
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic7% now, 7% by 2028
- Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood8% now, 8% by 2028
- Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders0% now, 0% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).