Since the start of 2021, orders have been placed for about 29,000 robots, an almost 40% increase from the same period last year, Reuters reports.
During a historic âGreat Resignationââwhere workers are fighting aggressively for higher pay and better working conditionsâit sounds like Puzderâs questionable advice has found new resonance in Americaâs boardrooms. North American companies are buying robots in record numbers, according to data from the Association for Advancing Automation cited by Reuters. Since the start of 2021, orders have been placed for about 29,000âor nearly $1.5 billion worth, an almost 40% increase from the same period last year, according to the industry group. The second-biggest year in sales was back in 2017 when there was plenty of tech innovation but no pandemic roiling the economy.
Asked his thoughts on raising the minimum wage, the former Carlâs Jr. CEO Andy Puzder once responded that thereâs absolutely no downside to hiring robots. You can pay them a $0 an hour, and theyâll never complain, always attempt to upsell the customer, never take a vacation, canât get injured on the job, and wonât file a sexual-harassment or race discrimination case against you, he said.
The sudden interest is undoubtedly tied to AIâs work ethic and skills. In the past 20 months, factories across the country have ridden out all kinds of disruptions that, were the workforce 100% nonhuman, wouldnât have slowed things downâby social distancing on the factory floor or staging worker walkouts, for instance. Lots of current human workers also quit during that same period, and companies are struggling to find replacements.
Read the complete Fast Company article BY CLINT RAINEY: https://www.fastcompany.com/90696622/labor-shortage-robots-companies
