cross-posted from: https://futurology.today/post/4251786
Bringing manufacturing jobs home has been in the news lately, but it’s not the 1950s or even the 1980s anymore. Today’s factories need far less humans. Global car sales were 78,000,000 in 2024 and the global automotive workforce was 2,500,000. However, if the global workforce was as efficient as this Honda factory, it could build those cars with only 20% of that workforce.
If something can be done for 20% of the cost, that is probably the direction of travel. Bear in mind too, factories will get even more automated and efficient than today’s 2025 Honda factory.
It’s not improbable within a few years we will have 100% robot-staffed factories that need no humans at all. Who’ll have the money to buy all the cars they make is another question entirely.
Can someone ELI5 China’s plans for laid off workers because of automation?
I see “Honda” and automatically think this is a pretense in putting more innocent workers on the streets.
I guess the next 5 year plan is coming out next year so we’ll know the answer to this question then. Directly or indirectly.
The laid off workers will be part of the Democratic People’s Reserve Army of Labour.
In a cooler world that actually sounds awesome.
Its sound like the thing FDR did where they build parks.
seriously why can’t there just be hot shirtless construction workers outside my window building parks all day
Truly paradise lost!
Are there workers getting laid off? Or is production expanding as fast/faster than the work force?
I dont see the workforce expanding by a factor of 5 tbh