August 3, 2011 03:01
Foxconn, one of the biggest IT giants of Taiwan, and the largest private-sector employer in China, recently announced that it plans to boost its robotic workforce from 10,000 to 300,000 units by early next year. The company ultimately aims of create a robotic workforce of 1 million units by 2014.
Foxconn, which manufactures parts for big-guns like Apple, HP and Sony, was criticized for poor business practices, which led to suicides of 17 of its workers last year. The string of suicides damaged Foxconn’s reputation and prompted the management to double its workers salaries.
According to the founder and chairman of Foxconn Company Terry Gou, the introduction of robots is intended to "cut labor expenses and improve efficiency". The robots will perform simple tasks like spraying, welding and assembling, which are currently being undertaken by human workers.
The planned introduction of 1 million robots is a quantum leap for Foxconn operations, and also serves to highlight the industry’s desire for increase automation and streamlining.
