With the advancement of the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, the number of “unmanned workshops” and “black light factories” has increased rapidly. “Machine replacement” has increased production efficiency and reduced the number of workers employed by some enterprises.

People can not help but ask, with the iteration of new technologies, to what extent will machines replace human labor, and what impact will it have on traditional industrial workers? Xinhua News Agency reporters recently visited Shanghai, Anhui, Sichuan, Jiangsu and other places to investigate, seeking answers from the front line.

FMH2A03TR-EN43CZ Where have the traditional industrial workers gone?

Into the Tianhong New Materials Co., LTD., located in Jieshou City, Fuyang, Anhui Province, the reporter saw that in the clean workshop, workers clicked on the CNC panel, the machine ran efficiently, and produced a roll of lithium battery diaphragm.

According to Hu Wei, the head of the company, in recent years, the company has undergone digital transformation, which previously required 40 people per shift, and now the degree of automation has increased, and only 32 people are required to work.

As a major employment absorber, the butterfly effect caused by the transformation of the manufacturing industry is appearing in the labor market.

On June 17, Chengdu Jinjiang District human resources market, a large screen is rolling to play the recruitment information of enterprises, and the bulletin board on both sides of the large screen is posted with the recruitment notice of enterprises.

Zhang Jun, a migrant worker from Jintang County, Chengdu, arrived early in the morning to look for work. He was originally in Guangdong, an electronic products company engaged in the assembly of electronic components of the production line, the factory is more and more automated intelligent, like his “do not need any technology, soon can get started” positions, fewer and fewer workers, wages have fallen, so decided to return to his hometown Chengdu, the new position is to work in a catering enterprise.

FMH2A03TR-EN43CZ In the process of digital transformation in manufacturing, low-skilled workers bear the brunt. New forms of business such as takeout and live broadcasting have developed rapidly, partly absorbing the original traditional manufacturing workers.

Qiao Yuxin, 19, delivers food on a street in Nanjing. His previous job was screwing circuit boards at the factory. Later, the company implemented “machine replacement”, “the same screw, the robot is not only better than the human screw, but also 24 hours non-stop”, so he chose to leave the factory to send food. “Unless a robot comes to climb the stairs one day, it is not bad to be a delivery man. It is more free than a factory and the income is higher.” ‘he said.

Zhang Chenggang, director of the China New Employment Pattern Research Center at the Capital University of Economics and Business, said the re-employment of low-skilled workers mainly flows to areas such as food and beverage services, express delivery and online ride-hailing.

There are also some workers in traditional industries who have learned and trained to realize the transition from low-skilled jobs to high-skilled jobs.

Jiangyin, Jiangsu, CITIC Pacific Special Steel Group, with the intelligent transformation of steelmaking slag grab car, Zhou Qing, a 40-year-old driving operator, now sits in the office of the intelligent control center and becomes the master worker. From operating the machine handle on the spot to operating the computer mouse in the office, she learned to adapt to the whole six months. “To adapt to change, you have to learn technology faster.” Zhou Qing said that only continuous learning can catch up with the pace of development.