Is This Robot A Friend— Or A Foe?

Automated manufacturing technology is becoming affordable for smaller companies. What does that mean for jobs?

- Jennifer Alsever

DONALD TRUMP rode a wave of anger and frustration among blue-collar workers, who had watched 8 million manufacturing jobs vanish over 30 years, to the presidency. He promises to restore them by slashing taxes, reducing regulations, and redrafting or killing trade agreements. But even if those strategies revive U.S. factories, a threat looms that has nothing to do with China or Mexico: Robots are likely to claim many roles long performed by flesh-and-blood workers.

Robots are on the rise—and the greatest growth may be about to come. Some 34,600 manufacturing robots shipped in North America last year,nearly double the 18,200 that were sold in 2005, according to the Robotic Industries Association. And as costs drop and performance climbs, the use of such technology is expanding beyond the auto industry, where it has made its deepest incursions. Robot sales have tripled in industries such as packaged foods and pharmaceuticals during the 2005–16 period. And by early in the next decade, some old-school industries that have been tough to automate, such as furniture-making, will begin to see robotics become cost-effective, according to Boston Consulting Group. Says Justin Rose, a BCG partner who follows the sector: “I don’t think it’s too bold to say that this will deeply impact large swaths of American manufacturing.”

For decades, the costs of robots were so prohibitive that only corporate behemoths could afford them. Bots often required hundreds of hours of programming by teams of engineers and computer scientists, and a single machine might run $100,000 (Rs 63.1 lakh). They also took up large amounts of floor space because they were kept inside large steel cages to ensure worker safety.