Employees V. Robots An Analysis on Automation, Jobs, and Industry Efficiency

Abstract

Automation is a common theme for many roles in the workforce. It is certainly a topic in the spotlight today as the evolution of Robot Capabilities due to improvements in technology its progressing at a rapid pace. This transition began notably in 1913, when Ford Motor Company sparked a shift in the way companies would engage in the manufacturing process by inventing the assembly line. Since then, technology has allowed certain labor roles to be entirely replaced by machinery. Now, companies are attempting to fully automate supply chain demands; an article on CNBC titled, “Walmart chases higher profits powered by warehouse robots and automated claws” [16], illustrates how large corporations are able to boost profit margins through the transition of a human workforce to a mechanical workforce. Another testament to this are the Tesla Gigafactories across the United States, an effort that was initiated on the brink of bankruptcy in 2016 in order to increase production. Since then, Tesla has completely changed their outlook, climbing the ranks of their competitors. Improvements to this process do however possess the risk that one day we may see our work environment completely dominated by machinery, and there may be no more need for human labor in some roles. This is the issue that will be examined in this thesis - the goal of this research project is to determine if there is any direct impact that introducing robots into the workplace brings to the labor.