Welcome to the Zombie nation: Apple third party supplier Foxconn is to hire more than 1 million robots to make iPad 2 and iPhone 5.
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That’s according to Foxconn owner, Terry Guo, China Business News reported yesterday.
Currently, the controversial electronics manufacturing giant uses more than 10,000 robots along with employing the services of 1.2 million workers to make Apple cult products like iPad and iPhone.
And it’s not just Apple Foxconn contracts to – several other well known names employ its services also.
The robots will be used to do simple and routine work such as spraying, welding and assembling which are now mainly conducted by workers, Foxconn Chief says.
The contract manufacturer has, in the past, been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism over its work practices following a spate of worker suicides, injuries and workplace accidents at its plants located mostly in the south of the China.
Three workers were killed and more than 15 injured as recently as May following an explosion in a plant located in Chengdu region.
But Guo’s factories have now set up a robotics division and plan to have 300,000 of them up and running by next year, meaning they will almost certainly be making the iPhone 5, due out later this year and iPad 3. It is thought the move to robotics will slash rising Chinese labour costs and boost plant efficiency.
Up to half of all manufacturing could be carried out by the robots in future, replacing humans, experts say. However, Gou has said he wants to move 1 million employees “higher up the value chain.”
What, making or cleaning the robots maybe?
Well, apparently Gou envisions his slave driven workforce (think 24 hour work days, no holidays, no talking at work) to perform task like “research and development, innovation and other areas that are equally important to the success of our operations”.
Lets hope he treats the robots better than he has his workers.
