Each of those robots on that line used to be 2, maybe 3 people for each shift. Meaning each robot replaced about 10 people. Meaning 400 people were replaced by this single section of a production line. Rather than 400 welders and another 50 supervisors, you now have 40 robots and a dozen technicians and engineers.
And the quality and consistency of the product increased, because robots don't have hangovers, or fights with their kids, or catch cold. They don't go on strike, or get upset at their boss.
And that higher quality and consistency lowers the warranty issues of the company, increasing the profits of the company, meaning more money for the stockholders.
the truth is, most jobs "lost" in the US didn't go overseas; they were replaced by automation.
the truth is, most jobs "lost" in the US didn't go overseas; they were replaced by automation.Interesting, so who or what engineers the automation and then manufactures and sets up the automated robots?..Robots? Oompa Loompas?
That was done effectively at PacBell during the 1989 strike. In my work spaces, we removed 9-track tape drives and installed 8mm. One management employee swapped the tapes on 40 machines each morning. The 7 x 24 coverage with non-management staff to service 9-track tapes was no longer necessary. We automated the monthly data extracts and transmitted the results via Ethernet to the IBM shop. No more 9-track mounts or the related system crashes when the employee unmounted the audit tape by accident. System availability improved tremendously.
The Amdahl shop installed giant cartridge tape robots. They required ONE employee to stock the racks with fresh tapes for backups. No employees were required when a program requested the mount of a specific tape volume. The robot fetches and mounts in seconds. Much better than having to make a phone call and have a human searching a room full of 9-track tape reels hung in a "library".
At the central office, the old step-by-step switching machines and some 5 crossbar were replaced with digital switches. No need for servicing the old mechanics. On the rare occasion that a card failed in the switch, it could be replaced by an unskilled employee directed by a remote technical support center. I changed a few cards in the switches during the strike. The hardest part of the task was locating the box with the replacement spare. That removed nominally 15 to 20 jobs per office and pushed reliability stats way up.
We have been automating work that can be done more effectively by machines. There really isn't much room for the uneducated, unskilled worker in a highly automated world. The semi-skilled tasks are exportable to places with lower labor costs. What remains is low end service work...retail, hospitality (restaurant/hotel) or higher skilled work. Little in-between. That can bite the skilled worker as well. There just aren't a ton of job openings for the highly skilled person either. Lose one and you might night be able to make ends meet with what remains in the low skilled service industries.
Don’t blame the Chinese, or Indians, or Mexicans. Blame the robots
For a little while I watched the cable show “How It is Made”, every American factory was almost fully automated (just like you stated). Very little human interaction.
A new theory I recently heard on the radio surmised that automation will replace all labor forces (even the Chinese and Indians) as there is an insatiable desire to increase efficiency and productivity while reducing cost. What made this theory interesting was that a similar thing has already happened to the agriculture business. The futurist who was describing it basically made the point that automation will allow us to produce all the goods we can consume with a very small percentage of workers. This of course leads to the dilemma of how you sell these goods to a population with no jobs. His prediction was that it was inevitable that we would have to tax industry profits to redistribute to unemployed workers just so industry would have someone to buy their goods. This may be one reason why the government types seem unconcerned about permanent unemployment of 10 to 20 percent and so eager to increase their role of distributing national wealth.