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There is a big disparity in the number of workers today and before the pandemic even though the amount of goods and services produced is the same. Estimates show that there are about 8.2 million fewer workers, which would be comparable to the payrolls of every employer in Virginia, Arizona and Iowa added together. Covid-19 created a surge of advancements in productivity using industrial robots, new software and artificial intelligence to reduce a company’s reliance on workers who could get sick.

According to Bank of America, President Biden’s infrastructure plan also encourages automation, because it will support investment in advanced factories.  This move towards automation is getting more important as the economy is rebounding from its recession. It has been difficult for employers to get new employees to combat the increasing demand.

Companies that sell automated machines are seeing an increase in business. Stephen Steinour, the chief executive officer at Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio was talking to investors on a conference call that the company has seen a boom in inquiries for financing equipment purchases. Steinour said, “Universally, they talk about the inability to get adequate labor, very high turnover and clear wage inflation at the low end. A consequence of that will be more investment by many of them into automation”. Seegrid is a privately owned manufacturer of autonomous forklifts that has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Seegrid is profitable and has seen its revenue double last year. To keep up with this growth, the chief executive officer of Seegrid, Jim Rock has said that the company will plan to employ a total of 200 new workers by the end of the year to add to its 150 current employees. The e-commerce boom has boosted orders Seegrid’s self-driving machines (original forklifts that have been outfitted with cameras, advanced algorithms and machine learning capabilities). These machines can lift five tons and have an accident-free track record, said Rock.

Advances in technology have made automated systems increasingly complex and are changing the way companies do business. Automated systems can understand human voices, debone chickens, handle chemical liquids, etc. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S productivity has increased by approximately 4 percent since the last quarter of 2019. McKinsey Global Institute surveyed companies and 75 percent said that they foresee investment in new technologies to expand till 2024. Companies are reducing workers and replacing them with automated systems. Pilgrim’s Pride, a chicken processor has laid off 1,200 of its workers and has plans to cut thousands more, said chief executive officer Fabio Sandri. Automation isn’t taking jobs from workers, it is allowing companies without enough workers to fulfill orders. With automated systems, it needs to employ workers that build the robots, write code for the automated production software, operate the robots, do maintenance and repair them.  A Bank of America report says that by 2025, the global economy will have double the number of robots as 2019 and 40 percent of existing U.S. jobs are in categories that could be replaced by automation (office support, food service, production and customer service). The Association for Advancing Automation, an industry group has said that companies other than the auto industry, which has been a traditional automation pioneer are accounting for over 50 percent of industrial robot orders. Albertsons, a major retailer, Norfolk Southern, a major railroad operator and Moderna, the maker of the coronavirus vaccine all have plans to invest in automation. Automation is expanding due to aftershock of the pandemic in the economy and is supplementing a smaller labor force. Workers will be migrating from industries that now need less workers towards industries that need more workers.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/05/19/automation-labor-economy/