Robots replacing human workers to counteract rising labour costs

Robots are being brought in to replace human workers at a production site in China, due to rising labour costs - according to The Mirror. 

The factory, which produces lenses for the German company Carl Zeiss, will introduce new automated machinery and techniques to fulfil a multitude of tasks; from pasting protection films, cutting shapes, polishing glass and packaging – processes which were carried out by humans.

Four years ago, the manager realised that the Chinese plant had lost its competitive edge – its low cost of labour, CCTV News reports.

Zeng Zhiyong of Carl Zeiss Vision Technologies (Guangzhou) said: “In 2012, the Zeiss Group informed us that labour in China was twice as expensive as in Mexico and four times that in India. We were very surprised at this huge gap and started to think of how to improve productivity.”