Tag: manufactur

As economy becomes more automated, is your job safe?

As economy becomes more automated, is your job safe?

Podcast

A study by Oxford professors Michael Osborne and Carl Benedikt Frey estimates that 47 percent of jobs in the U.S. are at risk of being automated in the next 20 years. In his farewell speech, former President Obama spoke of the relentless pace of automation that is making good middle class jobs obsolete. Tom Martin talks about the implications of automation with Dr. Chris Bollinger, professor of economics and director of the Center of Business and Economic Research in the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics.

Click here to hear the audio version of the interview: […]

Automation

Finally, Michigan can sleep easy. The factories are coming back. Ford’s CEO, Mark Fields, has cancelled a $1.6 billion investment in Mexico and is, instead, injecting $700 million into existing operations in the Great Lake State. This “Great Again” outcome is expected to create 700 jobs over the next four years.

Ford says that “changing business conditions” impacted their decision to cancel the Mexico operation, and they’re right. Business conditions are changing. For starters, 3D printers and robots are faster and more precise than even foreign laborers. Not to mention, robots don’t need to feed a family or pay the […]

25% of CEOs’ Time Is Spent on Tasks Machines Could Do

25% of CEOs’ Time Is Spent on Tasks Machines Could Do

Soon after taking office, the new president created a national commission to examine the impact of automation. No family should pay an unjust price for progress, he announced, yet automation should not be viewed as an enemy. “If we understand it, if we plan for it, if we apply it well, automation will not be a job destroyer or a family displaced. Instead, it can remove dullness from the work of man and provide him with more than man has ever had before.”

The U.S. president who spoke those words was Lyndon B. Johnson , and the year was 1964.

A […]

The future of manufacturing

The future of manufacturing

There’s growing optimism about a revival, but it won’t be what you think

The other day I had a conversation with a Manchester stockbroker who was bullish on the future of U.S. manufacturing. Parenthetically, this claim and others he made reminded me of two things about stockbrokers. One is by design – they have an eye to the future. The second is that they are capable of disrupting conventional wisdom with their insights.

So what are we to believe about the current state and future of manufacturing careers in the U.S.? Recent history and economic news has shown a declining […]

Nearshoring, Labor, and Automation

Nearshoring, Labor, and Automation

Robots Answer Shortage of Humans as Manufacturers Relocate

Nearshoring is reducing distances of shipments of export cargo and import cargo in international trade. Nearshoring —in which companies move production facilities closer to their consumer markets—is a phenomenon that appears to have found its footing.

A 2016 annual survey from Alix Partners of manufacturing and distribution companies in North America and western Europe found that 69 percent say they are considering nearshoring—up from 40 percent the year before. More than two-thirds say they’ve nearshored in the past three years or plan to do so in the coming three.One of the drivers […]

The Future of Employment in South Korea with Artificial Intelligence

The Future of Employment in South Korea with Artificial Intelligence

The polarization in jobs and wages is likely to worsen with the introduction of intelligent machines. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire) SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Ten years from now, the uncertainty in the South Korean job market will have worsened. More than a handful of jobs will have been replaced by artificial intelligence, although technological advancements will allow for several new occupations. Continued innovation in manufacturing, including 3D printing, will bring rise to more startups and self-employed businesses.

These are some of the projections for the year 2027 suggested by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning along […]

Letter: Exclusionary policies will hurt American workers

Letter: Exclusionary policies will hurt American workers

Many working-class Americans have felt abandoned by a government more focused on identity politics than the fact that their real wages have been stagnant for decades. Thirty-four percent of adults have no savings. Unfortunately, new trade and economic policies of exclusion will not help.

Five million American jobs depend on trade with Mexico. Largely as a result of Donald Trump’s candidacy and election, the peso has been devaluated five times since 2016.

The loss of manufacturing jobs is more a product of automation than trade policy. Since the 2009 economic recovery, 88 percent of these jobs require more than a high […]

The Future of Manufacturing – Big or Small?

The Future of Manufacturing – Big or Small?

Bruce Morey Contributing Editor Taking stock of a surprising and challenging 2016, a number of trends may point to a future where manufacturing output increases while continuing to decentralize. This may give hope to a surprising future of a distributed economy that begins to erode the monolithic big manufacturing we have taken for granted.

One of the major themes of the surprising political campaigns of 2016 was the loss of manufacturing employment in North America in recent decades. That fact alone is undeniable, according to statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The cause of this decline apparently […]

Robots May Replace Jobs that Trump Brings Back Home

Robots May Replace Jobs that Trump Brings Back Home

Recent policies that seek to protect American jobs are clear indication that Trump is absolutely serious about his promise to bring back jobs to America. However, when it comes to manufacturing, a different story is expected to play out. Many of the manufacturing jobs in the US are now being taken over by robots, thanks to the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities. According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), dependence on labor has already reduced in the automotive, electrical and electronics industries. This makes it difficult for Trump to go through […]

COLIN MACKAY: Advances causing job losses

COLIN MACKAY: Advances causing job losses

Columnist Colin MacKay. BELLEVILLE – Technological advances are helping to make people’s lives more convenient, but it’s coming at a price.
Automation, especially incorporating robotics, are eliminating jobs, particularly manufacturing ones. The theory goes technological advancement encourages growth and, in turn, creates jobs. However, as robotics continues to advance and replace people, the move away from traditional manufacturing jobs to service jobs is likely not progressing at a break even point. In Davos, Switzerland, at a World Economic Annual meeting, the idea of universal basic income was floated, due to the increasing number of jobs being lost. Replacing […]