Foxconn to use robots for production of Apple products

The Chinese electronics manufacturer Foxconn wants to use robots on a large scale on its production lines. The giant would like to be the first to use the robots on production lines that make Apple products, replacing factory workers.

Foxconn is testing these ‘foxbots’ and the final phase of testing has begun, writes the Chinese site ITHome. Foxconn wants to use at least 10,000 robots, as the first on the production lines that make Apple products.

The Chinese electronics manufacturer currently employs 1.2 million people, but the company believes that the large-scale introduction of robots will allow significant cost savings. The company indicated in 2011 that it would already install a million robots this year, but this number has not yet been reached due to implementation delays. Foxconn will not sell the self-developed ‘foxbots’, because it still has too few of them.

Despite the large number of robots that Foxconn plans to deploy, the company still relies heavily on workers. The company would have hired about 100,000 extra people for the production of the iPhone 6, which should be released in September.

Suspected ‘fox bot’. Photo: DTI.dk