Foxconn to replace workers with 1 million robots in 3 years

[El Mano]

Sorry if it's repeated.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english201..._131018764.htm

http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid...n-3-years.aspx

So it seems that finally Foxconn has found a way to end it's workers woes: no workers->no suicides.

I'm not sure what to think.

[BeepBeep2]

I'm done buying foxconn products. If apple continues to use foxconn to produce their products as well I will boycott them as well.

Minor foxconn parts used by other board manufacurers and in electronics I can deal with, I suppose.

[JohnZS]

Is this the beginning of SkyNET?
or the HAL9000
Or.......GLaDOS?
Either way is it really that much of an issue? I mean cars are largely produced by robots these days. I admit the redundancies will suck and be horrible for those involved, but will they be given jobs elsewhere.... like to maintain the robots?
John

[[XC] Oj101]

I'm done buying foxconn products. If apple continues to use foxconn to produce their products as well I will boycott them as well.

Minor foxconn parts used by other board manufacurers and in electronics I can deal with, I suppose.

That means no more Nokia, Xbox, PlayStation, Dell, Acer, Asus, Cisco, MSI... I'm sure I've missed a few... Intel branded boards, etc.

[Stewie007]

Robots need to be maintained, and you still need an operator. However, it gets rid of most of the labor force.

What they're doing is increasing overhead and decreasing the variable cost related to production workers. The technology takes very high investment to acquire and implement, but negates the cost of the worker.

They determined that they can spread the fixed cost across their product. It also makes it easier for the accounting department to account for costs. In other words, its not really a solution that they cooked up to "get rid of the workers."

They don't really care about their workers' safety, this is just cheaper. They don't care about getting revenge, this is just cheaper. Or at least, their assessment has lead them to conclude that it will be.

[kokomiscool]

sometime even a robot can do mans job....
foxconn realy dull to trust their life in robot

[FischOderAal]

Is this the beginning of SkyNET?
or the HAL9000
Or.......GLaDOS?
Either way is it really that much of an issue? I mean cars are largely produced by robots these days. I admit the redundancies will suck and be horrible for those involved, but will they be given jobs elsewhere.... like to maintain the robots?
John

You need way less people to maintain the robots, otherwise you would never break even with the high costs of the robots themselves. Many will have to find work elsewhere. If you ask me this is a change that comes naturally with higher developed countries. "Regular", low skilled labour is replaced by robots and more people are working in engineering. If you ask me, this will be a good thing in the long run for China. For the rest of the world, well, just one more competitor

I read an article a couple of months ago that the chinese government wanted to get away from just being the workbench of the world since now they are completely dependent of the engineering and IP of others. But for that to make a lot of sense they will have to vastly increase the wealth of the population (so that they buy more of the stuff they are producing themselves) and I don't see that happening soon.

Robots need to be maintained, and you still need an operator. However, it gets rid of most of the labor force.

What they're doing is increasing overhead and decreasing the variable cost related to production workers. The technology takes very high investment to acquire and implement, but negates the cost of the worker.

They determined that they can spread the fixed cost across their product. It also makes it easier for the accounting department to account for costs. In other words, its not really a solution that they cooked up to "get rid of the workers."

They don't really care about their workers' safety, this is just cheaper. They don't care about getting revenge, this is just cheaper. Or at least, their assessment has lead them to conclude that it will be.

Good post

[BeepBeep2]

That means no more Nokia, Xbox, PlayStation, Dell, Acer, Asus, Cisco, MSI... I'm sure I've missed a few... Intel branded boards, etc.

You missed the whole second half of my post.

Foxconn makes some things for those companies, sure. IO ports for example. However those companies also have parts made in house or elsewhere. The PS3 is not at all entirely foxconn built.

[[XC] Oj101]

You'll be surprised how much is built by Foxconn. They do the ENTIRE boards for Intel, they do MOST nVidia graphics cards (from there they go to MSI, Gigabyte, etc), etc. They do more than most people realise.

[zanzabar]

You missed the whole second half of my post.

Foxconn makes some things for those companies, sure. IO ports for example. However those companies also have parts made in house or elsewhere. The PS3 is not at all entirely foxconn built.

the ps3 is entirely assembled by foxconn and they make everything but the HDD, fan and cell/rsx.

[BeepBeep2]

the ps3 is entirely assembled by foxconn and they make everything but the HDD, fan and cell/rsx.

First year PS3's were made by only ASUSTeK, though yes the new slims and some of the old design are Foxconn, with some Pegatron mixed in.

[naokaji]

Stupid move.

Yes its better for the profit of some companies, but look at the so called western world where it got us when we got rid of the jobs and outsourced everything to China, handing jobs over to robots will have the same result for the Chinese as it had for us when we outsourced to China, some imaginary economic growth followed by the realization that it was imaginary resulting in the bubble bursting.

[Serra]

Stupid move.

Yes its better for the profit of some companies, but look at the so called western world where it got us when we got rid of the jobs and outsourced everything to China, handing jobs over to robots will have the same result for the Chinese as it had for us when we outsourced to China, some imaginary economic growth followed by the realization that it was imaginary resulting in the bubble bursting.

I don't understand what you're saying here. In the US and abroad product manufacturing was farmed out to countries with cheaper labor because it was not cost-effective to produce items in-country; that is to say, attempting to produce in the US was a competitive disadvantage and most companies that tried lost to competitors who did... the successful ones only survive because they became higher-end brands, changing their sales market. By contrast, FoxConn is keeping production in-country, creating a necessity for a labor market with greater skill, and probably producing a better product. They will be ensuring their company is able to continue and expand... that's not really a false economy.

There was no false bubble that burst either. Let's look at the auto industry, it is easily the #1 industry to look at as regards replacing people with robots. Sure, most western auto manufacturers did go under, but it is universally agreed that it was due to extended labor costs (pensions, health care), which are worker issues... DESPITE the automation. Even the auto workers unions saw that, which is why they accepted staggering losses to pension and healthcare systems as part of all reformations. As some proof for this, the auto manufacturers who hadn't been as generous to employees and had used heavier automation were actually the ones who didn't collapse. There are huge volumes of data to show that car manufacturing was made cheaper and faster by the use of heavy automation, and there is no reason to assume this wouldn't be the same.

As for my potentially controversial point regarding quality, by and large those westerners who lost jobs were better skilled than uneducated migrant workers (which form the majority of Foxconn labor), and robots were able to deliver nearly the same quality of work (a bit worse, but close enough in most industries)... so I would suppose the chances are actually pretty good that quality will IMPROVE for Foxconn.



At the end of the day it is always unfortunate to hear about people who are expected to lose jobs. From a basic human perspective it sucks. But it's also one of those facts of life. Instructing companies to stay less competitive to keep people employed is not a long-term solution, as eventually the company is doomed to feel the pinch and get beaten by competition, at which point everyone loses their job, and probably without nearly so much notice. I've been there, and as much as it sucks it's really part of the human condition as we have created it.

[Stewie007]

Outsourcing to China didn't happen because of robots. That happened because people decided that they didn't want to pay for quality. Rather, they wanted to pay bottom dollar. That includes all of us.

I don't see how you can relate robotics to outsourcing. Consumers demanding minimum pricing pushed manufacturing to China. When the cheap Chinese goods came to the west we all bought it up. We didn't care. Eventually, the manufacturers in the West couldn't keep up and had to cut costs to stay in business. That meant going to China and other such sources. However, it has nothing to do with converting to robotics. This is a Chinese manufacturer converting to Robotics....

I am not sure what lead Foxconn to mechanize. However, that industry is already Asia centralized. How is it even a threat to "take jobs away" when that industry has already been taken?

[Etihtsarom]

Oh Damnnn,

The jobs are being outsourced FROM the Chinese......

[xlink]

looks like Foxconn found an employee that is more subservient, makes fewer errors, and is even cheaper to have around than the Chinese.

[Stewie007]

looks like Foxconn found an employee that is more subservient, makes fewer errors, and is even cheaper to have around than the Chinese.

In this case, its probably similar in cost because their workers were already dirt cheap. I have a feeling that maybe their move was due to consistency standards.

[Lokinhow]

so, soon we will have news about suicide robots.

[zanzabar]

In this case, its probably similar in cost because their workers were already dirt cheap. I have a feeling that maybe their move was due to consistency standards.

or it could be from the rising wages and the global push (including from in china) for a minimum wage in china. the slave factories are also paying alot less than non skilled city work is now so as china comes up its becoming more viable for services/skilled labor instead of just unskilled crap work.

[Gamekiller]

so, soon we will have news about suicide robots.

Report from the Supervisor Robot says "I..I don't even know what happened... he..just... reached around and unplugged himself!!"

[tiro_uspsss]

Report from the Supervisor Robot says "I..I don't even know what happened... he..just... reached around and unplugged himself!!"

BAHHAHHAHAHAHAHA 'unplugged himself' ROLMAO!

[Stewie007]

or it could be from the rising wages and the global push (including from in china) for a minimum wage in china. the slave factories are also paying alot less than non skilled city work is now so as china comes up its becoming more viable for services/skilled labor instead of just unskilled crap work.

That is true. It is one reason why some manufacturers are starting to in-source some things. Aside from better quality, its no longer cheaper to do certain things in China.

[Hell Hound]

so, soon we will have news about suicide robots.

Ghost in the Shell 2

[map01ch]

wow Artificial Intelligence world is coming.... does that mean some of those worker will lose their job?

[STEvil]

Ghost in the Shell 2

4 actually, already been 3 movies iirc.. at least 2 for sure.

If you're referring to the act, then a better example would be Vexille.