While tech experts will be excited with this piece of news, 60,000 former employees of FoxConn will be lamenting how they have been replaced by Robots. Yes, Robots!
According to a report in a Chinese newspaper, one factory recently cut its employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000 thanks to the introduction of robots. This company happened to be FoxConn Group which is a multinational electronic contract manufacturing company headquartered in New Taipei, Taiwan.
In a statement, Foxconn Technology Group said “It was automating many of the manufacturing tasks associated with its operations.
“We are applying robotics engineering and other innovative manufacturing technologies to replace repetitive tasks previously done by employees, and through training, also enable our employees to focus on higher value-added elements in the manufacturing process, such as research and development, process control and quality control.
“We will continue to harness automation and manpower in our manufacturing operations, and we expect to maintain our significant workforce in China.”
Economists forecasting that 35% of jobs were at risk over the next 20 years. This impending job loss is being accelerated by China’s huge investments in robotics.
With the high unemployment rate in Africa, this news will be welcomed with mixed feelings as many African governments are still grappling with providing jobs for its youthful population. Notwithstanding, the fact still is that Africa cannot be isolated from the world of technology.
FoxConn is the world’s largest electronics contractor manufacturer, and the third-largest information technology company based on its revenue. It works with Giant tech companies like BlackBerry, Apple, Sony, and Nokia among others clients. It was founded on February 20th, 1974, 42 years ago by Terry Gou.
