Are Robots Taking Over Our Manufacturing Jobs?

 

Workers have long feared losing their jobs to newcomers, but the threat has changed somewhat in the digital age, with automated technologies posing a new form of competition for human labor. 

Also See: 10 Manufacturing Trends Your Startup Needs To Know

With 2.3 million already present in the global workforce, robots are now projected to supplant 20 million manufacturing jobs by 2030, including 1.5 million jobs in the United States. The shock of the coronavirus pandemic only accelerated this shift, as industries turned to technological improvements to alleviate financial losses and the health risks of continuing to do business on-site. 

The jobs that follow are just some of those poised to become increasingly automated. Machines don't need to eat or sleep, and are not prone to human error. Indeed, A.I. is quickly taking center stage in all aspects of our lives, but what risks does A.I. pose to human jobs, safety, and, importantly, our very existence?

Automation isn’t a new trend in manufacturing, of course. The automotive industry, for example, used 43% of the robots in the world in 2016.

But robots are becoming cheaper than many human workers, in part because of the falling costs of machines. The average unit price per robot has dropped 11% between 2011 and 2016, according to Oxford Economics. And they are increasingly capable of functioning in more sophisticated processes and varied contexts. On top of that, the demand for manufactured goods is rising.

China presents a big opportunity for growth in automation. That country already accounts for a fifth of the world’s industrial robots, with every third new one being installed there. Beijing “is investing in robots to position itself as the global manufacturing leader,” Oxford Economics said. By 2030, some 14 million robots could be working in China, “dwarfing” the rest of the world.