Foxconn, HSBC Join Global Trend: Technology Reducing Labor Costs

That's one reason America's unemployment rate remains above nine percent two years after the recession ended. Politicians and pundits keep speculating on what different economic factors are needed to get American employment moving in the right direction again, but they seem to ignore that companies just don't want people like they once did.

We knew the world would change in the twenty first century, but it took a decade for us to see exactly what that meant. Now we know. Yes, the world has flattened due to technology, but global workers are also getting flattened in the process -- needed in smaller numbers as they once were.

Foxconn currently employs more than 1.2 million workers at plants in China, and the Taiwan-based manufacturer of Apple's iPhone and iPad came under global scrutiny last year for a string of worker suicides, as concerns grew over labor issues including complaints of long hours, poor conditions and low pay. 

Both Foxconn and Apple moved in response. But now, one can't help but to correlate last year's issue with this recent news, that Foxconn will move from 10,000 robots currently in use in its factories to one million or more in the next three years.

Foxconn is one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers. In addition to making products for Apple, Foxconn also makes porducts for Sony, HP, and Nintendo. That means Foxconn is one of the most important and vital manufacturers in the world, considering such top-level consumer electronics are the fast-growing future in regard to making things.

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou told of the company's plan to heavily invest in robots at remarks last week made at the company's campus in Shenzhen, China. Gou told Foxconn employees he wanted to move the company's workers "higher up the value chain, beyond basic manufacturing work," according to a company statement.

With the addition of one million or more manufacturing robots over the next three years, Foxconn says it can improve the overall working environment in manufacturing facilities and allow the company to create more sophisticated products.

"The use of automation is driven by Foxconn's desire to move workers from more routine tasks to more value-added propositions in manufacturing such as R&D, innovation and other areas that are equally important to the success of our operations," Foxconn said.

Undoubtedly, the move will improve Foxconn's manufacturing abilities, while lowering labor costs. Arguing with the strategy from a business standpoint is a losing proposition. We can't stand in the way or progress, we simply as a global society have to evolve. That means more specialized training, and a more educated work force.