Robots to Produce Apples

3 Aug 11

Foxconn — the world's largest maker of computer components, which assembles products for Apple, Sony and Nokia — plans to use one million robots to do "simple" work, China Business News quoted chairman Terry Gou as saying.

Mr Gou announced the plan to 10,000 staff at a company event in Shenzhen on Friday, media reports said.

Foxconn currently has 10,000 robots doing painting, welding and assembly tasks. It will increase that number to 300,000 next year and to one million in 2014, the report said.

A Foxconn spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Taiwan-based company employs more than one million workers at its Chinese plants, about half of them based in its main facility in the southern city of Shenzhen.

Activists blamed the deaths on tough working conditions and have called for better treatment of staff.

Foxconn has been expanding its workforce in other parts of China as it seeks to scale back the size of its Shenzhen plant.

The firm opened a $US2 billion ($1.83 billion) Chengdu plant in October, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

Article as appears on news.com.au