Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.1), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.1). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.

Mixed signals. Today's AI/LLM studies show relatively low exposure for this job, but the older (2013) Frey–Osborne work rated it higher for computerization and robotics. Different eras, different technologies — the AI measures above reflect the current state.

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient

The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.

Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.

Tasks

All 28 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material. Core · importance 4.5
• Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring devices, such as rulers, micrometers, or scales. Core · importance 4.4
• Review work orders, blueprints, specifications, or job samples to determine components, settings, and adjustments for cutting and slicing machines. Core · importance 4.4
• Press buttons, pull levers, or depress pedals to start and operate cutting and slicing machines. Core · importance 4.4
• Start machines to verify setups, and make any necessary adjustments. Core · importance 4.3
• Feed stock into cutting machines, onto conveyors, or under cutting blades, by threading, guiding, pushing, or turning handwheels. Core · importance 4.3
• Mark cutting lines or identifying information on stock, using marking pencils, rulers, or scribes. Supplemental · importance 4.2
• Monitor operation of cutting or slicing machines to detect malfunctions or to determine whether supplies need replenishment. Core · importance 4.2
• Stack and sort cut material for packaging, further processing, or shipping, according to types and sizes of material. Core · importance 4.2
• Adjust machine controls to alter position, alignment, speed, or pressure. Core · importance 4.2
• Remove completed materials or products from cutting or slicing machines, and stack or store them for additional processing. Core · importance 4.2
• Maintain production records, such as quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced. Core · importance 4.2
• Remove defective or substandard materials from machines, and readjust machine components so that products meet standards. Core · importance 4.2
• Position stock along cutting lines, or against stops on beds of scoring or cutting machines. Core · importance 4.0
• Move stock or scrap to and from machines manually, or by using carts, handtrucks, or lift trucks. Core · importance 4.0
• Type instructions on computer keyboards, push buttons to activate computer programs, or manually set cutting guides, clamps, and knives. Supplemental · importance 4.0
• Change or replace saw blades, cables, cutter heads, and grinding wheels, using hand tools. Supplemental · importance 4.0
• Position width gauge blocks between blades, and level blades and insert wedges into frames to secure blades to frames. Supplemental · importance 4.0
• Select and install machine components, such as cutting blades, rollers, and templates, according to specifications, using hand tools. Core · importance 3.9
• Direct workers on cutting teams. Supplemental · importance 3.9
• Sharpen cutting blades, knives, or saws, using files, bench grinders, or honing stones. Supplemental · importance 3.9
• Turn cranks or press buttons to activate winches that move cars under sawing cables or saw frames. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Tighten pulleys or add abrasives to maintain cutting speeds. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Cut stock manually to prepare for machine cutting, using tools such as knives, cleavers, handsaws, or hammers and chisels. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Clean and lubricate cutting machines, conveyors, blades, saws, or knives, using steam hoses, scrapers, brushes, or oil cans. Core · importance 3.8
• Operate cranes, or signal crane operators to position or remove stone from cars or saw beds. Supplemental
• Start pumps to circulate water and abrasives onto blades or cables during cutting. Supplemental
• Wash stones, using water hoses. Supplemental

Work activities

• Weigh finished products.
• Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
• Operate cutting equipment.
• Sort materials or products for processing, storing, shipping, or grading.
• Stack finished items for further processing or shipment.
• Study blueprints or other instructions to determine equipment setup requirements.
• Set equipment controls to meet cutting specifications.
• Enter commands, instructions, or specifications into equipment.
• Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.
• Record operational or production data.
• Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions.
• Conduct test runs of production equipment.
• Select production equipment according to product specifications.
• Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment.
• Move products, materials, or equipment between work areas.
• Clean production equipment.
• Lubricate production equipment.
• Feed materials or products into or through equipment.
• Position raw materials on processing or production equipment.
• Replace worn equipment components.
• Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
• Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
• Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
• Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.
• Direct operational or production activities.
• Cut industrial materials in preparation for fabrication or processing.
• Operate grinding equipment.
• Sharpen cutting or grinding tools.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Abilities

Transferable skills

Knowledge

Essential skills

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

• Finger Dexterity Common Skill
• Visualization Specialized Skill
• Information Ordering Specialized Skill
• Deductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Mathematics Common Skill
• Reading Comprehension Common Skill
• Depth Perception Common Skill
• Microsoft Word Common Skill
• Microsoft Outlook Common Skill
• Microsoft Excel Common Skill
• Inductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Equipment Maintenance Specialized Skill
• Critical Thinking Common Skill
• Speech Recognition Specialized Skill
• Complex Problem Solving Common Skill
• Active Listening Common Skill
• Time Management Common Skill
• Social Perceptiveness Common Skill
• English Language Common Skill
• Systems Analysis Specialized Skill
• Equipment Selection Specialized Skill
• Active Learning Common Skill
• Writing Common Skill
• Learning Strategies Specialized Skill
• Instructing Specialized Skill
• Negotiation Common Skill
• Chemistry Specialized Skill
• Physics Specialized Skill
• Psychology Specialized Skill
• Installation Specialized Skill
• Telecommunications Specialized Skill
• Foreign Language Common Skill
• Biology Specialized Skill
• Geography Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Education

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Typical entry-level education

High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Preparation level

SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Interest areas

Work styles

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Related occupations

Part of the Advanced Manufacturing career cluster.

• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing · 51-7042.00 Compare →
• Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4033.00 Compare →
• Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-6062.00 Compare →
• Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4031.00 Compare →
• Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood · 51-7041.00 Compare →
• Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-9196.00 Compare →
• Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders · 51-9191.00 Compare →
• Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4035.00 Compare →
• Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4023.00 Compare →
• Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4081.00 Compare →
• Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand · 51-9022.00 Compare →
• Cutters and Trimmers, Hand · 51-9031.00 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
• AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
• ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
• IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
• Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
• Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-role-51-9032-00,
  title  = {Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9032-00}
}