Topic > Cheap Labor vs. Automation

Imagine the situation where the manager or supervisor does not have to negotiate with the union over wages. Instead, he can simply order the robot to perform tasks. No questions asked. According to the supervisor's wish. This is exactly what will happen in the future in most manufacturing industries due to automation in businesses. The debate between the need for automation and the availability of cheap labor has been going on for a long time. Most opponents of automation cite the social and economic impact of rapidly shifting jobs as the reason. But at the same time, these people fail to see the cost it takes to employ labor and the fact that every economy in the world is facing a declining talent pool (skilled people who can access employment). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay If you look at our country, the rise of the service sector in India's GDP is mainly attributed to the large pool of highly skilled and low-cost workforce. Foreign multinational companies are outsourcing their work to India, especially in the areas of business process outsourcing and information technology services. Offshore IT outsourcing has increased due to the cost of offshore labor. This labor cost has been a powerful draw for foreign customers, but many expect this labor cost advantage to decline in the future. With increasing technological advances and rising labor costs, searching for cheaper labor elsewhere will be a thing of the past. Offshoring will therefore have less of a competitive advantage in the future. IT services companies are moving towards automation, cloud, Internet of Things, etc. And it's not just IT services, the arrival of automation has spread to almost every industry across the globe. According to a 2015 Grant Thornton International Business Report, a survey of more than 2,500 executives in 36 countries, 56% of companies are automating processes or plan to do so in the next 12 months. The need to ensure productivity in every way is what drives companies to opt for automation. Companies are now faced with situations where capital costs are low while labor costs rise, increasing the demand for automation. In the field of manufacturing, automation has played a significant role. Automation has allowed companies to produce goods at lower costs by taking advantage of economies of scale. Automation can also lead to shorter lead times and more efficient use of inventory and, consequently, cash flow. German auto giant Volkswagen noted that automating German factories yields greater cost savings than moving the production unit to China. Till date, the most significant contribution of automation in India has been observed in the field of supply chain and warehousing. Butler, an orange robot, developed by GreyOrange, India's largest warehouse robotics startup, helps online retailers and logistics companies reduce delivery times and costs. GreyOrange has Flipkart, DTDC, online furniture portal Pepperfry and Delhivery as clients. These robots (as shown below) can also sort around 1.2 million packages per month and have the potential to replace 60-80% of the warehouse workforce. These robots challenge the very need for cheap labor, as is evident in the eyes of consumers. companies that, in the long term, the investment a