While they're punching a hole in the air, yes. Takeoff & landing in most modern commercial aircraft have some auto-throttle/auto-braking assistance, but those are still generally flown by hand on every flight. Note that the cargo airlines this article addresses are primarily working with a much older fleet of airplanes that the major passenger airlines got rid of, so their tech generally lags behind what you see on the flight deck of your travel flights.

No one has yet implemented a real point-to-point autopilot, and there are none in the pipeline for certification. It's possible there are engineers working on them, especially at Boeing/Airbus, but given airframe lifetimes at the major commercial carriers pilots are here for at least another 20 years with them, and probably 30-40 years at cargo carriers.

Isn't it also low hanging fruit?

My napkin math says truck drivers are a MUCH higher % of ground shipping cost compared to airline pilot and flying cost.

Airlines have a lot of staff costs, but those would seem like it would be maintenance and ground crew which is even harder to automate.

Seems like a truly unbiased source.

Tell me, whom we should ask about whether automated planes are going to be viable in the near future if not a pilot?

They still have to be alert and ready to take over during the flight.

Not all of them at the same time. It depends upon how many pilots are on the flight; but observing while auto-pilot is engaged only takes one person. The other people can relax, nap, read, etc.