China combats labor costs with robot replacements

Global Business

China’s biggest manufacturing base is in the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, and Dongguan is its manufacturing hub. As labor costs rise, some factories in Dongguan are now experimenting with a “zero labor production” strategy, replacing workers with robots. CCTV’S Li Yang filed this report.

Highlights:

  • Dongguan-based World Precision Manufacturing is a 2-storey precision mold processing plant. In 2014, it purchased nearly 50 mtmachineso update its assembly lines on the first floor.
  • It plans to have new machines to replace more workers upstairs within the next two or three years. All this in an effort to cut down on rising labor costs.
  • According to Dongguan’s Department of Human Resources and Social Security, this year the province is facing a shortage of 600,000 to 800,000 workers.