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Foxconn Allegedly Replacing Human Workers With Robots
Techcrunch.com ^ | 11/13/12 | John Biggs

Posted on 11/13/2012 2:47:23 PM PST by Nachum

Foxconn has been planning to buy 1 million robots to replace human workers and it looks like that change, albeit gradual, is about to start.

The company is allegedly paying $25,000 per robot – about three times a worker’s average salary – and they will replace humans in assembly tasks. The plans have been in place for a while – I spoke to Foxconn reps about this a year ago – and it makes perfect sense. Humans are messy, they want more money, and having a half-a-million of them in one factory is a recipe for unrest. But what happens after the halls are clear of careful young men and women and instead full of whirring robots? What happens to China’s “burgeoning” economy?

The original story is short on details but it seems that the robots will work alongside employees and not replace them outright – although some crowding could occur.

(Excerpt) Read more at techcrunch.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: apple; china; foxconn; human; ipad; iphone; ipod; replacing; robots; taiwan; terrygou
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To: Nachum
The company is allegedly paying $25,000 per robot – about three times a worker’s average salary – and they will replace humans in assembly tasks.

Robots don't sleep and can work 24/7, so the robot could replace multiple people, and pay for itself in a year or two.

21 posted on 11/13/2012 3:18:52 PM PST by PapaBear3625 (political correctness is communist thought control, disguised as good manners)
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To: jsanders2001
Right!

Obamacare is like the minimum wage law on steroids as it pertains to replacing jobs with technology.

22 posted on 11/13/2012 3:20:27 PM PST by RoosterRedux (Obama: "If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.")
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To: Nachum

Butlerian Jihad.


23 posted on 11/13/2012 3:22:10 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
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To: coconutt2000

Not at all. There were no robots there. My health took a turn for the worse and I couldn’t perform all the functions of that job.


24 posted on 11/13/2012 3:29:06 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: TChris
"It doesn't damage the economy in the long run"

Using more robots means that the overall cost of production goes down. This means that products can be sold cheaper to humans who are making less in service sector jobs.

If the world's population settles and then starts to go down a little, this might be OK. More and more robots making cheaper products for fewer low paid humans.

If, however, the population continues to increase for a while, then there will be too many unemployed people not making enough money to buy anything.

Going on the dole will be institutionalized around the world, and not just in places like the UK.

25 posted on 11/13/2012 3:45:05 PM PST by who_would_fardels_bear
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To: Nachum

In the meantime, we have the highest corporate tax rates in the developed world, we are going to raise engery prices, and we are trying to raise labor rates with Obamacare.


26 posted on 11/13/2012 3:51:46 PM PST by Vince Ferrer
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To: Nachum

Wait, isn’t this a good thing? Foxconn will no longer be exploiting its “slave labor”. The liberated workers can now become unemployed and dependent on government to survive. For liberals, that should be a wet dream come true.


27 posted on 11/13/2012 3:58:41 PM PST by Bob
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To: who_would_fardels_bear
If the world's population settles and then starts to go down a little, this might be OK. More and more robots making cheaper products for fewer low paid humans.

If, however, the population continues to increase for a while, then there will be too many unemployed people not making enough money to buy anything.

Nah.

That certainly hasn't been the case with all the machines put to work since the dawn of the industrial age up until now. They have increased the standard of living across the board! So why would it be any different in the future?

More machines = greater efficiency = lower costs = lower prices = greater wealth (more output from less human work). This is basic capitalism here. It has increased wealth for all, and that rising water has clearly lifted all industrialized ships.

28 posted on 11/13/2012 4:00:06 PM PST by TChris ("Hello", the politician lied.)
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To: Nachum

Can Robots commit suicide? Do Androids dream of electric MP3s?


29 posted on 11/13/2012 4:00:22 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: Erik Latranyi

And robots don’t vote Democrat.


30 posted on 11/13/2012 4:00:36 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: Nachum
Hey, productivity matters.

I would have been glad to substitute robots for the 27 female humans I was forced to supervise the last time I had a job.

There was always something. On the one day there was not something of some substance, there would be a catfight over bullcrap.

31 posted on 11/13/2012 4:31:39 PM PST by elkfersupper ( Member of the Original Defiant Class)
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To: elkfersupper

Robots don’t need Obamacare.


32 posted on 11/13/2012 4:38:35 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: Nachum

Can’t wait to see the reaction of the Chinese luddites


33 posted on 11/13/2012 5:15:43 PM PST by Figment
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To: Erik Latranyi

do not come to work drunk,

I’ve seen it too many times, robots do occasionally drink on the job. You will, for some time to come, need human overseers for the robots. They suffer from stress and heat just like humans in a lot of ways


34 posted on 11/13/2012 5:20:36 PM PST by Figment
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To: Erik Latranyi
Add:

Do not require personal time.
Don't need paid vacations.
Do not need health insurance.
Won't get pregnant and...
Won't rob your organization blind.

Impeach the kenyan or secession.


35 posted on 11/13/2012 5:21:43 PM PST by ex91B10 (We've tried the Soap Box,the Ballot Box and the Jury Box; ONE BOX LEFT!)
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To: nickcarraway

Can Robots commit suicide?

I don’t know if you can call it suicide, but have seen robots damage themselves beyond what it would be wise to spend repairing them


36 posted on 11/13/2012 5:29:38 PM PST by Figment
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To: KevinDavis
What does Foxconn do/produce?

No, I ain't googling it. Lousy reporting.

37 posted on 11/13/2012 6:17:39 PM PST by publius911 (Formerly Publius 6961, formerly jennsdad)
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To: publius911

Foxconn makes most of the consumer electronics in the world — mostly in contract to some other company, like Apple


38 posted on 11/13/2012 11:50:57 PM PST by Cronos (**Marriage is about commitment, cohabitation is about convenience.**)
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To: TChris
Folks, this has been happening in many industries for decades now. It doesn't damage the economy in the long run, it helps it. A worker replaced by a robot certainly doesn't have much fun, true, but overall, the efficiency gains from factory automation benefit everyone.
Robots are at work on every assembly line and in every factory, and they are a Good Thing.

All this productivity (efficiency) you worship only result in more Obama voters. It is easy to connect the dots. So be prepared to have your taxes transferred (redistributed) to the armies of the unemployed and their baby mamas. My taxes too so long as Obama and Democrats rule

Progress and automation and computerization and robots cannot be stopped but anyone with a brain can see it is better to have more humans needed to make things and this is what America was like 20-30-40 years ago. In fact I am pretty sure FoxConn wanted to deploy more robots a while ago but was under pressure from Chinese Gov't to keep people employed. Chinese Gov't fears civil unrest from too many idle workers.

39 posted on 11/14/2012 12:35:06 AM PST by dennisw ( “The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything”)
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To: dennisw

.


40 posted on 11/14/2012 12:39:42 AM PST by dennisw ( The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything -- Buddhist monk)
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