Apple supplier Foxconn replaces 60,000 workers with robots
Apple's primary manufacturing partner, Foxconn, has replaced 60,000 people with robots at a single factory in Kunshan, China, a report said on Wednesday.
The factory's workforce shrunk from 110,000 people to just 50,000, the South China Morning Post said, noting that as many as 600 companies in Kunshan have similar plans. It's worried that automation could potentially have a devastating impact on the region's population, comprised mostly of migrant workers.
Foxconn has been working to deploy robots in its factories for some time. Although each machine is expensive upfront, the benefit to management is reduced labor costs, which can in turn mean stable prices for client electronics corporations like Apple.
The Post did not say what Foxconn manufactures at its Kunshan plant, but last year companies in the area are said to have built approximately 51 million laptops and 20 million smartphones.
Foxconn factories are likely to become increasingly automated, not only in an attempt to stave off the impact of better Chinese labor standards, but also to keep up with Apple demand, since Foxconn regularly hires extra labor en masse to prepare for iPhone launches.
Apple itself has become more invested in robotics. In March it unveiled a robot called "Liam," designed to quickly and efficiently tear down devices for recycling.
The factory's workforce shrunk from 110,000 people to just 50,000, the South China Morning Post said, noting that as many as 600 companies in Kunshan have similar plans. It's worried that automation could potentially have a devastating impact on the region's population, comprised mostly of migrant workers.
Foxconn has been working to deploy robots in its factories for some time. Although each machine is expensive upfront, the benefit to management is reduced labor costs, which can in turn mean stable prices for client electronics corporations like Apple.
The Post did not say what Foxconn manufactures at its Kunshan plant, but last year companies in the area are said to have built approximately 51 million laptops and 20 million smartphones.
Foxconn factories are likely to become increasingly automated, not only in an attempt to stave off the impact of better Chinese labor standards, but also to keep up with Apple demand, since Foxconn regularly hires extra labor en masse to prepare for iPhone launches.
Apple itself has become more invested in robotics. In March it unveiled a robot called "Liam," designed to quickly and efficiently tear down devices for recycling.
Comments
Per the WSJ several months ago:
"...the partnership makes sense as Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics devices, can provide Google the best testing ground for its new robotics technology. They said Google is expected to build a new robotic operating system for manufacturers, just like the Android operating system for mobile computing devices. A successful robotics operating system would further strengthen Google’s position in the technology industry.
“Foxconn needs Google’s help to step up automation at its factories as the company has the lowest sales per employee among the contract makers, given its large workforce,” said Wanli Wang, an analyst at CIMB Securities. “Using robots to replace human workers would be the next big thing in the technology industry."
You're correct. Here's a pdf from the Minerals Education Coalition showing what minerals are used in cell phones (iPhones and others) and where they come from (dated: 2012, I hope there isn't any asbestos in iPhones). Look at everything coming from China, http://www.mineralseducationcoalition.org/sites/default/files/uploads/cell_phone_activity_0.pdf. I would think labor continues to be the highest costing individual expense and replacing some of that cost with robots should help stabilize that cost as well as hopefully increase the build quality.
Bring some back to the U.S. Of course those jobs will be high skill, high pay, so no, minimum wage McDonalds workers won’t be assembling iPhones any time soon.
I have not read that China has changed its rules around automation. China will not allow something to be automated if a human can actually do the work. Generally the only way they allow automation or robots is if you can show a human can not do the work, even then you may be required for a human to be involved like pressing a button to make the robot begin the work. I was in HDD factor in China and elsewhere and the entire manufacturing process of HDD today is completely automated it is almost completely lights out production. In China they still had people sitting at the machine watching what it did and pressing buttons which is not really needed. All the companies in China told me they are required by the government to maintain a person. China is about workers and keeping them working.
If Foxconn is allowed to do this, something else must be going on. I heard most factories in China are having a hard time finding workers especially ones which want and can do this kind of work. It the problem of the one child rule and those who grew up as a single child are not having kids themselves. It looks like China is loosing its labor force. Unlike the US where people do not want to work unless they get CEO pay.
I'm also surprised that the Chinese government would permit such massive layoffs. The last thing they want is 50,000 + angry workers.
Someone has to build and maintain those robots.