Hyundai's humanoid robot plans trigger union warnings of mass job losses

The robots are set to be deployed at Hyundai's Georgia plant

by · TechSpot

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A hot potato: The fear of generative AI taking office jobs has somewhat overshadowed the issue of robots replacing factory workers. But in Korea, Hyundai Motor's labor union has warned against the company's plans to use humanoid robots in its factories, saying it would bring a "huge employment shock."

Hyundai Motor Group showed off Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot at CES earlier this month. The company said it plans to build a factory capable of producing 30,000 robots annually by 2028 and to begin deploying humanoid robots at its Georgia plant that same year, with plans to roll them out across all global production sites.

As is usually the case after an organization announces it is embracing AI/robots, Hyundai's share price reached a record high following the news.

However, the company's labor union is far from pleased. It has accused Hyundai of trying to boost its profits and reduce its workforce through the use of automation.

"Under no circumstances will workers welcome the plan, as the robot deployment will bring a huge employment shock," the union said.

"The union warns that not a single robot can be deployed at worksites without an agreement between the union and management."

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Regarding the threat to human jobs, Hyundai has toed the standard line about how Atlas will ease the physical burden on workers and carry out jobs that are potentially dangerous to humans.

But the union says the move is simply about increasing long-term profits at the cost of human jobs. The annual maintenance costs of a robot like Atlas are estimated to reach $9,500, far less than a typical worker's wages. Moreover, Robots don't require sick days, vacation time, rest, or lunch and bathroom breaks.

"This is a good excuse for capitalists who seek to maximize profits from a long-term viewpoint," the union said.

The union also slammed Hyundai over its plans to expand production overseas, including the US. The company said its Georgia factory ‍will reach annual production capacity of 500,000 vehicles by 2028 to meet rising demand in the US market.

In October, there were reports that Amazon aims to replace 600,000 of its US warehouse workers with robots. The New York Times wrote that Amazon's robotics team hopes to automate 75% of all operations at the company, thereby eliminating 160,000 positions that would have otherwise been required by 2027.

Amazon quickly responded to the report by promising, once again, that the robots would not replace workers. The claim may have held more weight had Amazon not used the announcement to also unveil two more factory robots designed to replace workers.