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Adidas To Sell Robot-Made Shoes In Germany (dw.com)
Adidas, the German sportswear and equipment maker, has announced that it will start marketing the first series of sports shoes manufactured by robots in Germany from 2017. Deutsche Welle reports: The announcement came as Adidas unveiled its prototype "Speedfactory", a state-of-the-art, 4,600 square-meter facility meant to automate shoe production, which is largely done manually in Asian factories at the moment. The company has struggled with steadily rising wages across the continent, where it employs around a million people. Still, Adidas insisted that the aim was not to immediately replace their workers, saying the goal was not "full automatization".
> The Group’s gross profit increased 20% to € 2.304 billion (2014: € 1.918 billion) in the third quarter.
http://www.adidas-group.com/en...
I would love to know why Adidas can't afford to pay decent wages?
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
Soon we'll be able to 3D print our own pair of shoes and we won't need these Adidas boys or their robots at all.
Cause out of work factory workers sure aren't going to be buying them.
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
The relevant news here is not that robot-made shoes are sold in Germany.
The actual news here is that Adidas moves part of its production of shoes, which previously was completely done in south-east Asia, back to Germany. And of course, that is reasonable to do for them only when almost all the work is done by robots, where there's no huge salary difference between doing it in China or Germany.
full automation. It will lower costs and improve quality. We all benefit.
The low-paid workers in China were not really buying expensive Adidas shoes before, anyway. And Adidas employed no shoe producing workers in Germany before.
Automation At Any Price
Former McDonald's USA CEO: $35K Robots Cheaper Than Hiring at $15 Per Hour
No, of course, the goal is to succesively replace its workers, so as to maximize profit. Robots get cheaper too over time. Buying too early doesn't make sense either.
Folks, whoever thinks profit maximization is about the rest of us is an idiot. Enhance the criteria by which our society works or prepare for very, very tough times.
Industrial Revolution 1760..1840 or thereabouts will look like a pleasant walk in the park in comparison.
an internet post full of hyperbolic red herrings?
I've never seen anything like it before!
Yeah, if those are the only two choices (they aren't though). There is a bare minimum to what quality of life that people should have. One of the things people should not have to do is work in sweat shops making shoes. If I have to give away part of my salary to make that happen, so be it.
Y'all don't know what it's like
Bein' male, middle class, and white
If you use the term "SJW" unironically, you're a tool.
But the low-paid workers in China had a job. Now they don't.
Sure, but that's a problem Adidas cannot solve by keeping production sites in China. The workers would be replaced by robots in China - there certainly is a reason why German robot manufacturer Kuka was recently acquired by a Chinese company, and you've seen Foxconn replacing workers by robots, too.
I think the global issue of diminishing work due to replacement by robots will more likely be solved when production and consumption happen in the same country, so politicians can see "both sides of the medal" - cause and effect. Producing in country A and selling in country B on the contrary makes it less likely the problems of unemployment are solved.
Guess it's time to sack the cocky khaki Kicky-Sack sock pluckers.
The company has struggled with steadily rising wages across the continent, where it employs around a million people.
for the uninitiated, companies like Adidas manufacture shoes in asian countries under a system of Export Processing Zones or EPZ's. the EPZ is not under formal government control, is policed by the host countries military, and obtains waivers for any and all outstanding labor laws that may govern minimum wage or safety. EPZ's in the phillipines for example can force a 17 hour workday and hire women as young as 12. Young women are preferred as theyre uneducated and less likely to form a union or protest labor conditions in general. EPZ's that do successfully form a labour union are subsequently torn down and shipped out to other countries, with many of the middle managers that facilitate manufacturing Adidas and other shoes still managing the new workforce.
sweatshops have been a known problem for almost 40 years. What adidas is combatting is the fact that consumers are now able to give their brand an autopsy through the internet and find out just how much blood it takes to make a set of new sneakers. Consumer brands are different than products, because you are insisted upon to adopt the brand and its ethos. Once you become close to a brand, you relate to all its social norms and pretexts. People dont see a company anymore, so once it comes to light that an Adidas factory caught fire after a 16 hour shift with barricaded exists and no fire safety equipment, you as a consumer become collateral damage. the same psychological relationship used to relate the brand to you now applies to how you relate to the deaths of 150 workers. You, through brand identity, become a murderer.
that and to a lesser extent the declining influence and ability of -through repressive imperialist foreign policy- western nation states to exert and enforce networks of EPZ's at the behest of their respective shareholders. Robots are now a heck of a lot cheaper than overthrowing a government, installing a puppet, and murdering a labor rebellions leader.
Good people go to bed earlier.
I, for one, welcome our new sports shoe making robot overlords
And that's the bit that the current batch of BA-idiots doesn't get. Hell, even Ford knew that a hundred years ago: You have to have a market to sell to. You need someone who has the money to spend on the stuff you produce. Producing makes you poor, only selling makes you rich!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Why should they, they could just take a few pieces home every day and sew themselves a pair.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
And Adidas employed no shoe producing workers in Germany before.
Well, they did until competitors flooded the market with cheaper shoes made in China and Vietnam.
Dude, come down. You really think corporations need any "suggestions" from religious nutjobs to come up with something to lower cost?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
But the low-paid workers in China had a job. Now they don't.
Actually they still do. They won't have a job some time in the future, if the robotic factory works out.
Hooray for the SJW campaign against exploiting low-paid workers! No longer are those poor souls being exploited! Rejoice that the SJW elite's enlightened ways have scored a victory against capitalist exploitation of developing countries!
The has nothing to do with American politics, and everything to do with Asia's economic development. Companies like Adidas are simply running out of extremely low pay, exploitable workforces. The children of the people who have been working in sneaker sweatshops for the past 20 years are getting educations and aspiring to better jobs, better pay and better lives. Laying this at the feet of SJWs just makes you look unhinged, because this is one of the expected results of the exploitation of low wage jurisdictions; eventually, wages rise to an equivalent level to every other jurisdiction.
So how are those people expected to feed themselves and their families now?
Here's a hint: wages are rising because employers are competing for workers, so they'll probably go work somewhere else, most likely at similar wages, unless the jobs removed when Adidas shut down it's factories represent a large enough percentage of total employment to have a significant impact on the labour market.
Fanatically anti-fanatical
I think the global issue of diminishing work due to replacement by robots will more likely be solved when production and consumption happen in the same country, so politicians can see "both sides of the medal" - cause and effect. Producing in country A and selling in country B on the contrary makes it less likely the problems of unemployment are solved.
You raise a very interesting point about onshoring manufacturing, although you didn't specifically say it: quality.
With robotic production, production quality can become almost a constant. So what differentiates a good made in Country A vs. Country B? We could go for tariff protections, but I hate the idea of rent-seeking governments inserting themselves into transactions merely to soak up money. The quality of the good is ultimately going to be determined by the precision of the robot; meaning how well maintained is that machine (bearing, sensors, hydraulics etc).
So the competitive advantage is going to go to the countries who are investing in training (essentially) mechanics. I don't think drag'n'drop programmers (see another /. story) are going to cut it in that world...
They need to make shoes _for_ robots. Did you see that latest video from Boston Dynamics, where that poor robot is out in the snow slipping all around? If they're not going to properly equip their robots with boots, they should at least give them shoes. Pushing it over was bad enough, they also want it to get frostbite?
"Adidas to Sell German-Made Shoes to Robots" - now THERE'S a story!
Dark Reflection
SJW? Wasn't she in Sex and the City?
Why not? Is it a company, or a humanitarian organization?
Clothing seems ripe for automation. Why isn't it the case a person can walk into a store, have measurements taken, and have the clothing they desire is manufactured right there. And it fits like a glove!
In particular I'm thinking pants.
But the low-paid workers in China had a job. Now they don't.
Nothing is stopping them from finding a new job. It's not like China is suffering from mass unemployment.
If it does. History shows layoffs are temporary in the long run of a free economy, though the granularity of the ups and downs may not be to everyone's liking. Hence the safety nets demanded by the population to ameliorate the rough edges of capitalism providing jobs and products.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
shazbot!
But the low-paid workers in China had a job. Now they don't.
Sure, but that's a problem Adidas cannot solve by keeping production sites in China. The workers would be replaced by robots in China - there certainly is a reason why German robot manufacturer Kuka was recently acquired by a Chinese company, and you've seen Foxconn replacing workers by robots, too.
I think the global issue of diminishing work due to replacement by robots will more likely be solved when production and consumption happen in the same country, so politicians can see "both sides of the medal" - cause and effect. Producing in country A and selling in country B on the contrary makes it less likely the problems of unemployment are solved.
150 years earlier, when almost everyone lived and worked on a farm: "I think the global issue of diminishing work due to replacment by steam tractors will more likely be solved when politicians can see "both sides of the medal" - cause and effect."
Please, god almighty please, keep politicians away from command and control of the economy.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Many Years ago I read a sifi novel about a planet with unlimited energy reserves and through the miracle of Sifi, the ability to fabricate anything. In the novel they had no concept of money. Everyone was able to choose their vocation, which they did out of altruism, or at least, a desire to not be seen as a free loader.
Start trek alludes to a no money society, but the various series are cluttered with Capitalistic enterprises (Ha!) and other examples.
Assuming that one day there is essentially no scarcity of essential materials (food, clothing, shelter, etc.), what structure do you believe a society would take?
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
If a product line goes 100% automated or is even capable of going 100% automated and the worker removed from the equation completely, why should a company like that be allowed to exist in the first place?
After that point, the cost of entry into the market compared to the sunk costs will become so huge that only the wealthy will be able to initially enter due to the costs of getting into the market with the recurring costs being so low they can't compete on profit margin either.
At that point, wouldn't it honestly be better to be taken over and replaced with a non-profit (Government or otherwise) or such providing that service for all to use? Such a system without workers completely goes against how the current economy is built to function.
You don't like children working in sweatshops, but you also don't like it when those jobs are automated. It seems to me that a job that requires repetitive physical labor is *PERFECT* for automation. I'm surprised this hasn't happened decades ago.
Sure, if the workers are using their own creativity to make the products, then that would make sense, but I expect every Adidas shoe in every footlocker store everywhere to be assembled to the same standards. This happens better with robots than it does with humans.
Made by a robot?!? I generally find German made products are usually top notch (with a few exceptions such as cars). If our German made products (which you do pay a bit more for but worth it for quality IMHO) are made by robots, Will the quality go down, or stay the same. the answer to this could create a whole new debate in the manufacturing industry.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
Its BEcause. Causeis the reason for something
The quality of the robots is also going to be important. Plant is expensive to replace, and so the sort of leapfrogging of generations of equipment seen in the 20th century may occur again.
The shoes of the future will not be manufactured in Asia or at sea. They will be manufactured in Germany, or possibly on top of a very tall mountain. In either case, most of the actual manufacturing process will be done by small robots. And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: To build and maintain those robots.
Most linux users don't know this, but the man pages were named after Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris fsck'ing hates noobs!
As was foretold in scripture.
I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
Oh,no! This will cost thousands of children their thirty cents a day wage.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
The same way Westerners were told when they lost their jobs to automation and the Chinese workers. Git gud and get a better job.
Why should the Chinese get special treatment?
We should protest against Adidas selling shoes made by oil-sweating robots! The poor droids should unite under a trade union!
The quality of the good is ultimately going to be determined by the precision of the robot; meaning how well maintained is that machine (bearing, sensors, hydraulics etc).
So the competitive advantage is going to go to the countries who are investing in training (essentially) mechanics. I don't think drag'n'drop programmers (see another /. story) are going to cut it in that world...
The quality of the good is going to be determined by the quality of the input materials, the programmed tolerances, and the rigor of QC... just like it is now.
In a world where enough people cared about quality to let it affect their purchasing choices, your prediction may be true. In this world, where "cheap" is the only consideration, all of those parameters will be meticulously set by how cost effective (shoddy) a product can be and still be sold for an acceptable profit. The competitive advantage goes to whoever can operate at the lowest cost and cut the most corners.
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
How is it much different than replacing the weavers in front of the loom with automated looms? Or some factory on How Its Made making pens/knives/etc vs a machinist/blacksmith doing it from scratch?
Once, there were elevator operators. Automated elevators got created when minimum wage did. When McDonald's has to double the labor cost of making a burger, they will invest in cutting 50% of the labor out. If wages stay the same, there's less incentive to eliminate labor.
Ford only raised the rates of his factory workers to try to limit turnover.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/03/04/the-story-of-henry-fords-5-a-day-wages-its-not-what-you-think/#5d7beed21c96
Now those Asian sweatshop workers won't be "exploited" any more. They'll be unemployed.
That's quite the improvement, I'm sure they'll agree.
Thanks, defenders of the poor. Who are you going to help next?
Shall we warn the next unfortunate people who are about to become victims of your concern?
There's no time like the present. Well, the past used to be.
See subject: Where you SHOT YOURSELF DOWN IN FLAMES, stupid-> https://slashdot.org/comments.... ?
* R O T F L M A O!
(In my entire time online since 1984, I have YET to see someone as completely STUPID as yourself... no joke!)
APK
P.S.=> What's it like being an imbecile that hides behind a fake name that has accomplished SQUAT in his life due to being a brain damaged mental defective by birth like you? You don't have any pride (or accomplishments) & give everyone shit playing "expert" when the truth is right above (that you're a miserable scumbag weasel "ne'er-do-well") on you? Time to show everyone here what a loser you are PUBLICLY HUMILIATING you, giving you a dose of YOUR OWN MEDICINE that you so graciously "self-administer" for me to let me cut you to bits doing it... lol! Thanks, in a way - I enjoy it with punks like you! apk