I work for a company that does robot cell applications and we use these robots all ovver for companies like BMW, Coca Cola ect..  The point is i have seen production lines in Germany that are operated by 2 people and a similar line in South Africa operated by 50... It will definitely sort out your labour issues but application of this must be realistic..

There are certain things that robots just cant replace humans with, This would also mean that you would have to get a person or people to maintain/operate these cells...

Hav a look and decide for yourself

http://www.kuka.com/usa/en/

Rheinhardt

--Off all the things i've lost , i miss my mind the most--

I have lived long enough to see at least two major economic cycles in the US.  When the economy is bad, it is all about moving offshore to save labor costs or to automate to save labor costs.  When the economy is booming, everyone forgets all of that stuff so that money can be made while it is easy to make it.  My very un-scientific conclusions about all of this:

Moving your manufacturing to a low-labor cost place can be expensive:
1.  shipping cost
2.  managerial cost due to remote location
3.  cost to create good quality at the remote location
4.  customer relationship cost

Automating your manufacturing to eliminate high-labor cost can be expensive:
1.  cost of capital automation equipment
2.  cost of high-technology people to operate the equipment
3.  cost of high-technology people to maintain the equipment
4.  cost of product flexibility
5.  cost of discharging those high-labor cost people

But, sometimes, either or both of these strategies actually work.

I think there is a balance where people with very powerful adaptive CPUs + stereoscopic vision systems + 10-digit tactile manipulators with sensory capabilty and force feedback + mobility + motivational capabilities + extreme task flexibility can and should be used where they make a best fit.  Let the robots and automated machines be used where they are the best fit (repetitive, dangerous, unpleasant, high-speed, etc.).  Unfortunately corporate managers can only see the financial side of things during their short-term view of life.

TygerDawg

I guess this problem can be seen in several ways.

First of all, automating processes won't save jobs, people will still get fired and new people with better skills or experienced in that type of equipment will have to be hired. Maintenance staff, might have to be changed as well.

Then as pointed previously you will have the costs of changing your process elsewhere... There are people to be taught about how to do things, then there's schedules and logistics problems that normalyy don't come cheap.

And then there's the problem that automatisation diminishes flexibility... Will your products be just as they are now in a few years? Will the specifications remain the same? Or will you have to change software, settings, robots, every time your product changes???