Robots to replace up to 20 million factory jobs by 2030

According to the latest study, around 20 million manufacturing jobs will be wiped out globally by robots in the next ten years.  And the displacement of jobs will not be evenly spread around the world, or within countries, according to the study published by Oxford Economics, a UK-based research firm.

Lower-skilled regions are likely to lose their jobs, the survey said after an in-depth study in seven economies such as The United States, Germany, Britain, France, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. 

Since 2000, roughly 1.7 million manufacturing jobs have been replaced by robots, including around 400,000 in Europe, 260,000 in the US, and 550,000 in China.

The survey highlighted that the rate at which robots were replacing jobs had been rising massively, with the global stock of industrial robots more than doubling since 2010.

By 2030, China is likely to have as many as 14 million industrial robots. The entire robot inventory of Europe and The US has reduced to 40 percent of the global share from its top to 50 percent in 2009.

Japan, one of the world leader in automation, has cut down its stock of robots by around 100,000 units since 2000. 

The study pointed out that the use of robots in the services industries would accelerate sharply in the next five years. This would primarily impact the logistics sector but should spread to other industries, including healthcare and retail.  

Commenting on the impact of robots in Singapore, James Lambert, Associate Director, Oxford Economics pointed out that it was well positioned to benefit from this new generation of robotics as it has a modern and upgradeable infrastructure, a supportive regulatory framework and a strong investment environment.

"Those workers in Singapore that are displaced by technology will have to adapt their skills to the evolving demands of the future economy but the government already has put in place schemes to help to retrain workers displaced by technology," he added.