Report: Apple Demands Suppliers Switch to Robotics for Manufacturing

[HarryPot]

Makes me wonder, is the solution for all countries to have closed economies?
Undoubtedly that doesn't work for public companies, because they need access to a bigger market to be continuously growing.

We've been taught that a company that stops growing, dies. The only way this is sustainable is if someone else loses market or if you get access to new markets. And when either one of these two scenarios happen, someone else loses money.

I much prefer smaller companies that are owned by local people and support local employees. Even larger companies are ok. Just not the stock market. It's very easy for stock owners to forget about their employees and their community, they only care about dividends.

 

[burgman]

You know, the Foxconn you are referencing is the size of an actual city, with living, shopping, restaurants, entertainment, etc. And for all people’s dumb, tired jokes about the nets, even without them they had a far lower rate of suicide than any American city. Perhaps we aren’t exceptional after all

The point is Apple made that and much more in China. Some good books on the subject about how Apple almost singlehandedly trained and financed China to be the tech powerhouse they are today. Foxconn, emphasis on CON in USA is a very clean modern version of company towns that chews up humans. We consumers built that

 

[contacos]

At which point will our own financial stability depend on the robot that we can afford to do the job for us? "Your robot only built X iPhones today, here is your salary of today. If you want to earn more money, make sure to upgrade your working robot to the latest version."

 

[Premium1]

Big corporations are going to destroy the world.
The world needs regular and simple jobs like manufacturing and retail, without them poverty will increase.

I know these robots create some higher paid jobs, but it eliminates many more.

We are putting our happiness in getting new and shiny things on a yearly basis. Getting into debt while doing so. And all money goes to the same big corporations that own the big companies.

We supposedly live in the best "world economy" ever. But honestly, people don't seem to be happier than before.

They are already destroying the world. The workers don't like their jobs (hence the suicide nets and what not). This will take jobs away but lets not act like these were well respected jobs with a healthy work environment.

 

[Premium1]

This is the first thing that came to my mind. It is much easier to move robots and/or robotic workflows to a foreign country (i.e. India or the U.S.) than it is to get visas for thousands of Chinese/Taiwanese workers. This is the inevitable result of China pulling employees out of India and Apple discovering it is going to have a talent deficit in other countries.

Not to mention the training that wont need to be done to bring these up to speed. Simply update the software and it is good to go. Plus they aren't at the mercy of some country like China saying nope and pulling workers (like you stated).

 

[burgman]

I've spent time in communist countries. Marx may have had a theoretical solution, the reality of that solution applied to the real world was.... not good.

There's a reason why any Central and Eastern European country that had a communist system are now countries where the general population despises communism.

The reality of communism is not something we should aspire to. It was tried, it failed.

And supposedly communist countries in the world today are realistically capitalism but where the state ( i.e. the government) does not allow a separation of government and corporate. China is a rabidly capitalistic country.

Then you have North Korea, that is just a feudal monarchy pretending to be a "people's republic".

Don't confuse the system with the corruption that people in power took advantage of. Your same argument can be applied to our modern sociopathic form of capitalism and worship of money as the endgame, by any means necessary. Regardless of social, environmental, economic costs to others. Throw in our corruption and we are on a similar path to a capitalism monarchy. And the crowd roars.
Trump administration buying into Intel with future control options. The golden share with board seat in US Steel and ability to nationalize. Plus more companies they are circling. Under the guise of national security of course. Sound familiar, in what system again, I forget socialism or communism?

 

[4tune8chance]

Apple is significantly accelerating the rollout of automation and robotics across its manufacturing supply chain, DigiTimes reports.

While Apple has advocated for increased automation in supplier facilities for over two years, sources familiar with the matter say that Apple now requires automation as a standard prerequisite for awarding manufacturing contracts. This is said to be part of a broader effort to minimize labor dependency, stabilize product quality and uniformity across different facilities, and reduce long-term production costs amid ongoing supply chain diversification away from China.

Apple's alleged automation mandate spans all major product categories, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Apple now purportedly expects suppliers to fund their own automation upgrades rather than rely on Apple to finance or subsidize the necessary capital equipment. This policy change diverges from Apple's previous approach, where the company frequently invested in tooling and machinery for contract manufacturers to meet its specifications.

The financial burden of this new automation requirement is apparently already impacting supplier margins. High initial capital expenditure, coupled with operational disruptions during integration of robotic systems, has reportedly strained profitability for some suppliers.

Apple still continues to assist suppliers in areas related to environmental responsibility. The company's 2030 target to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain includes direct support for upgrading to energy-efficient equipment and more sustainable materials.

Apple ostensibly hopes that increased use of robotics will help standardize processes, digitize inspections, reduce the impact of labor shortages and political instability, implement consistent processes for new suppliers, and mitigate the challenges of maintaining consistent build quality when production is increasingly split across multiple countries.

Article Link: Report: Apple Demands Suppliers Switch to Robotics for Manufacturing

Like many industries in the past, manual labour gets replaced by automation when it can. But look on the bright side we can always sell insurance to each other.

 

[The_Auryn]

At a local Denny's here in Los Angeles, a robot delivers your food to your table. And everyday I see driverless cars and four-wheeled robots (that look like something out of Star Wars) crossing sidewalks and delivering food orders.

 

[SFjohn]

At some point, the law of diminishing returns will come into play and margin squeezes will no longer be possible. Couple that with a plateau in iPhone demand, and what will be Apple’s safety net? More stock buybacks?

Increasing services revenue… 👍🏻

 

[wilderkun]

1) FoxCon manufacturers Microsoft, Sony, and HP, so when people complain about FoxCon they either aren’t being intellectually responsible, or they are spreading misinformation about Apple. Nearly every single tech company makes their product on the same floor. Should Apple require more, yes absolutely! But at the same time, why does every commenter single them out, when surfaces, galaxy ultras, and 8k tvs use the same labor force????! Obviously like during the mid 2000’s why Apple was “called out” more than any other company by Greenpeace for actual changes, while Microsoft got blessed for changes happening 20 years from then, that never actually happened?
The idea that America should become part of this special manufacturing base that doesn’t exist now, and wouldn’t for 20 years is absurd.
We should always strive to build a better future for our society, but the idea of sacrificing 20,30,40+ years of economic opportunity and development for ASSEMBLING™️ products for companies that aren’t even fortune 1000’s because Apple will never assemble their products here, due to poor qa.
The idea on the right that America should become Singapore or Hong Kong, in terms of our economic model, is patently absurd. It goes against 250 years of philosophy, economics, and the value of human decency.
What trump gets wrong, and acts like a stroke victim about, is that tariffs quite literally are a tax increase, along with they never working in history. ie 1930’s America.

 

[frownface]

Yes, this is the huge problem, and as yet we don't have a convincing solution for it.

We can't simply make "fake jobs", we can't tell people to dig a hole and then fill it in.

Wehn. I started out in work, I was working in printing and publishing ( hence Macs). I remember very early on meeting an older guy who was, frustrated, to say the least. He was a typesetter. He physically set type and made plates for printing. And his job didn't exist anymore. Telling him to learn DTP wasn't a valid option because 1) that wasn't what he'd spent his working life doing up until now and 2) there were hundred sof young design school graduates who did know their way around DTP packages coming up behind him.

Yes, companies manufacture products to sell. But there needs to be people with enough disposable income to buy the things that are manufactured. People get an income from working.

The robots don't get paid, and, even if they did, they have no burning desire to buy cars or laptops.

ironically bulls hit jobs are a thing and have been a thing for a long long time

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulls hit_Jobs

(remove the space for the link to work)

 

[Yr Blues]

Literally demanding people have no jobs. Apple is a heartless machine.

 

[Lone Deranger]

Alternate headline:

"Apple - Multi-Trillion dollar mega corporation demands more Trillions still"

 

[Soi Dog]

Do you want to work on a factory floor or in retail?

Firstly I want a job. Preferably in something I have expertise in. If AI and Robots replace me what do you want me to doo? Society will have to change radically, Politicians are unable to face the challenge in their comfort zone.

 

[Lone Deranger]

The automaton in charge of it all.

 

[shinkansenwarrior]

A 180 turn from 20th century days when mass labor created unity, a sense of togetherness and community spirit for a better tomorrow ... erased by automation. Gotta watch what's creeping up behind you to stay relative and survive.

 

[JosephAW]

Can’t wait for the day that robots will buy iPhone devices. 🤔 📱

 

[bmustaf]

I'd rather machines build them anyway, much more consistent quality.

If it's done right, yes. If not, the build quality is very frequently much less consistent and much worse. Even the most advanced automated/"autonomous" (there's no such thing yet) assembly lines are nothing like the movies or the media portrayals. Even simple objects with very generous tolerances rarely function with the kind of consistency that ones with augmented humans (e.g. augmented with precision tooling & process improvement regimes) do.

Of course, I'm happy to see this mandate and progress towards this ultimate goal, but there's *a lot* that it takes to get a high level of automation to produce consistency good product/build quality that a line with skilled workers using precision tooling/semi-automation can output. And a lot that can/does go wrong even once that line is working initially. And to change even something small (e.g. after the first few weeks of a new device, small engineering changes are often made) can be much harder when there is a high degree of automation (Tesla has, like them or hate them, made significant advances here and done some incredible innovation and are recognized as one of the most advanced in any industry in automation, but, even now, almost a decade later, suffer frequently from very inconsistent build quality in the soft and hard tooling phases, which they actually kind of threw out the window to some very interesting successful results).

 

[tobybrut]

At some point, the law of diminishing returns will come into play and margin squeezes will no longer be possible. Couple that with a plateau in iPhone demand, and what will be Apple’s safety net? More stock buybacks?

That’s what the foldable iPhone, foldable tablets, and Vision Pro/Air/etc products are for. Vision Pro is a proof of concept for what will eventually replace the phone, tablet, and mobile computer. Once it gets down to size with proper miniaturization, the phone will go away and people will make calls on their glasses. You can already make calls on your watch but it doesn’t have a good enough screen for most purposes, so that’s what AR is for.

 

[sinoka56]

If Apple is demanding then why not do it in house so there's less % cut.

 

[tobybrut]

Tim was saying that the impediment to assembling phones in the US was not due to labor charges but rather due to lack of necessary experience in the workforce. Even if you don’t believe him on that, going fully automated removes any reason for Apple to assemble phones in China or India regardless of Apple’s real reasons.

 

[Q’tip]

Really? Not one mention of the timing? Labor Day! Really?

 

[BrightDarkSky]

Do you want to work on a factory floor or in retail?

A silly question on its face.

 

[BrightDarkSky]

Yep get rid of the human cost so we didn't have to worry about salaries. Margins over all. Sounds very TIM APPLE.

What is this company's goal now anyway?

 

[Flight Plan]

I'm guessing you never lived on a farm. You work every single day of the week (unless you respect ancient religion and take one day off).

Even on your one day off, the sheep and pigs would need to eat, the horses need to be let out in the morning and the cows would need milking. And if something didn't get done earlier in the week, your one day off would be used to get caught up on that task.

Like fixing a fence, building a new ramp for the cows, or cleaning out the various water troughs so the animals wouldn't have all kinds of filth floating in their drinking water. You might have to spend some of your Sunday hunting the wild pigs that got into the chicken coops and killed some of your best-laying hens. And then there's the utility shed that leaks water inside during the rain. You'd love to repair at least the biggest leak so that you'd have room to park your small tractor closer to the door because that's the one thing you use the most.

I'm not a farmer and I don't have livestock, but I'm pretty sure all the animals poop every day, so if you have stalls, you'll still need to clean them out, even on your "day off".

When you have livestock, there's probably no such thing as going to Turks and Caicos for a couple weeks to get away from it all.

People used to work every day for survival. Now people lay around watching TikTok and complaining about having to work.

You're not wrong. A lot of them used to complain about everything, because they were actually being paid to do that.

But the good news is that SOME are realizing that the gravy train has stopped delivering free money. When the bags of money stop showing up, people have to find other things to do for their survival. Many already have, with many more yet to come. And that is a GOOD thing.