Explore the rankings
Manufacturing & Production · Updated Aug 2026

Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
40/100
Moderate

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
48/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence80/100
Task coverage82%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products.High
81
Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes.High
81
Separate materials or products according to size, weight, type, condition, color, or shade.High
81
Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut.High
41
Mark cutting lines around patterns or templates, or follow layout points, using squares, rules, and straightedges, and chalk, pencils, or scribes.High
40
Position templates or measure materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields, using rules, scales, or patterns.High
40
Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish.High
25
Unroll, lay out, attach, or mount materials or items on cutting tables or machines.High
26
Cut, shape, and trim materials, such as textiles, food, glass, stone, and metal, using knives, scissors, and other hand tools, portable power tools, or bench-mounted tools.High
25
Stack cut items and load them on racks or conveyors or onto trucks.Medium
20
Adjust guides and stops to control depths and widths of cuts.Medium
20
Lower table-mounted cutters such as knife blades, cutting wheels, or saws to cut items to specified sizes.Medium
20
Clean, treat, buff, or polish finished items, using grinders, brushes, chisels, and cleaning solutions and polishing materials.Medium
21
Route items to provide cutouts for parts, using portable routers, grinders, and hand tools.Medium
26
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products.81
  2. Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes.81
  3. Separate materials or products according to size, weight, type, condition, color, or shade.81
  4. Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut.41
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Stack cut items and load them on racks or conveyors or onto trucks.01
  2. Adjust guides and stops to control depths and widths of cuts.02
  3. Lower table-mounted cutters such as knife blades, cutting wheels, or saws to cut items to specified sizes.03
  4. Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish.04
  5. Cut, shape, and trim materials, such as textiles, food, glass, stone, and metal, using knives, scissors, and other hand tools, portable power tools, or bench-mounted tools.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

See all rankings →
Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency39
Physical dependency63
Adoption pressure34
Labour-market resilience44
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence80/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →