The automotive company Nio, one of the most important brands of electric cars in China, plans to replace 30% of its factory workers with industrial robots between 2025 and 2027, and could also reduce management positions by 50% by artificial intelligence (AI). At the end of 2022 Nio had around 7,000 people on staff, although this month it has cut 10%, to around 6,300.
"We want to use AI technologies to reduce our dependence on skilled and technical workers, and thus save more on labor costs," explained the company's vice president for manufacturing, logistics and operations, Ji Huaqiang, quoted by the Hong Kong newspaper South China. MorningPost. The measure would allow us to get closer to profitability.
The manager pointed out that if AI becomes capable of making 80% of current manufacturing decisions, it would allow management positions to be halved by 2025, while industrial robots would eliminate the aforementioned 30% of positions operated by workers on production lines.
The company envisions a future without labor and fully automated in its factories, although it is admitted that it is difficult to set deadlines in this regard. The company, founded in 2014, has not yet registered profits and faces a market that, although it is the largest in the world in the electric sector, is increasingly competitive, with around 200 brands, among which The technological Xiaomi or the digital Baidu are now sneaking in. As of October, Nio delivered more than 126,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 36%.
Nio has two large plants, both in Hefei, eastern China, with a combined capacity to produce 450,000 vehicles a year. The objective of the company, which already uses robots for certain industrial processes, is to convert one of its factories into the smartest on the planet, with advanced equipment and cutting-edge management.
