Achieving Industrial Upgrading Through Automation in Dongguan, China

Abstract

This study examines industrial upgrading in manufacturing firms in Dongguan, China in the context of the Dongguan government’s recent policy initiative to boost its manufacturing sector by encouraging industrial upgrading. To implement its so-called ‘Replacing Humans with Robots’ policy, which we see as an expression of the central government’s ‘Made in China 2025’ policy, the Dongguan government offers incentives to manufacturers’ region to automate their production lines with a range of assets including computer numerical control (CNC) machines and industrial robots. Applying Humphrey and Schmitz’s (Regional Studies 36[9]:1017–1027, 2002) taxonomy of industrial upgrading, our mixed-methods ethnographic and documentary research identified three types of upgrading at the factories we studied: process, product and functional upgrading. While our data draw on the perspectives of factory owners and managers, they bear important implications for workers. Future studies are needed to elaborate those implications.

Change in Labour Force Skillset for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A Literature Review

“…Besides that, as automation reduces the need for intensive labor, firms can shift their focus from productivity concerns to product quality and innovation, necessitating employee upskilling or reskilling. By upskilling their employees, automation can fully benefit from highly trained and skilled employees (Sharif and Huang, 2019). Automation for most firms provides a competitive advantage in terms of continuous product quality improvement (Chumnumporn et al, 2022).…”

"Robotization" and "Labor Downgrading" - Based on the Relationship Between Technology and Workers in China

“…The labor supply has decreased, so the labor shortage problem of the traditional manufacturing industry is quite severe. In recent years, with the rise of the new generation of workers, rights protection and group power has been rising (Huang & Sharif, 2019;Cai, Li & Feng, 2009;Liu, 2011). Besides, the workers' demands for a higher salary, on-time payment, and a better labor environment are rising, which also brings tremendous pressure to the enterprises' employment.…”

Upgrading China through Automation: Manufacturers, Workers and the Techno-Developmental State

“…Since industrial upgrading is a relatively recent phenomenon in China, there have been few studies analysing automation in China (Huang and Sharif, 2017; Sharif and Huang, 2019a). As Huang and Sharif (2017) point out, labour scholars on China tend to be ‘technology blind’ and slow to respond to the impact of industrial upgrading on workers.…”

“…Regarding the factors driving automation, one study points to rising labour costs and high labour turnover (Cheng et al, 2019), while other studies highlight market pressures to decrease the workforce, increase productivity and quality, and reduce work-related physical strains and injuries as the main factors. The high labour turnover of low-skilled workers means that firms rarely need to resort to layoffs when automation reduces the workforce (Huang and Sharif, 2017; Sharif and Huang, 2019a, 2019b; Zhang, 2014). Early labour process studies in the United States show the relationship between labour control and automation (Braverman, 1975) and some evidence supports such a link in the Chinese context also.…”