The industrial robots based in Foxconn’s factories are also known as “Foxbots.” The company owns approximately 50,000 foxbots and other automated equipment. Foxconn is capable of performing more than 20 varied manufacturing processes, including stamping, polishing, packaging and testing. Currently Foxbots are used in factories including Zhengzhou, Kunshan and Shenzhen. The deployment also implies the possibility of lights-out, or worker-less, factories in the future.Foxconn’s in-house manufactured robotic technology is capable of covering up to 70% of the mechanical manufacturing process , said Chia-Peng Day, general manager of Automation Technology Development Committee of Foxconn Technology Group. Chances are that these robots will be used in Foxconn’s manufacturing bases including Zhengzhou, Kunshan and Shenzhen, turning them into lights-out factories. Meanwhile, Foxconn’s “Foxbot” may be commercialized and introduced to the market, reported South China Morning Post.
Also, if the automation plant is in China, then the truck drivers bringing materials to the plant are also in China, and the robot repairman is in China, and the cleaning crew is in China, and the automation engineer is in China. Losing some jobs to automation is not as destructive as losing industries to foreign countries.