>> “someone moving on to their lifestyle acreage”
They have that in Australia too, I see.
When my company bid on an Australian navy specification it stated explicitly that we could not use Australian flagged merchant ships, Australian owned transport and we’d have to price bringing technicians and personnel to unpack, test and install. We protested that the latter would add huge costs. The reason, it turned out, was the Australian navy was so plagued with labor issues that they didn’t want any Australian anybody involved until the navy took ownership. I’d imagine they’re like England before Margaret Thatcher broke the unions.
Minimum wage in Australia is $640 a week.
That trend has been reducing China's labor cost advantage, making it more profitable to have an automated factory here than a coolie factory in China.
The average salary of an experienced welder is about $60,000 a year.
Multiply $60,000 by 60 and you have : $3.6 Million a year in wages.
Three $150,000 robots is just $450,000 !!
Of course you have to consider parts and maintenance. But when balanced against payroll taxes, medical and sick leave benefits, there really is no contest.
I am of course, assuming that the $150,000 price per robot is accurate.
I could use a little bit of that myself.
briggs engines? lol