SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY ROBOTIZATION

Abstract

The transformation to Industry 4.0 increases the number of robots’ installations within the industry, which brings various concerns. The paper focuses on changes in manufacturing sector in the last decade, and on the expected future development. Based on analysis of official and publicly available data we expose the decreased number of jobs and a contracting share of manufacturing output within the industry. We also compared data on industrial robots’ shipments and labour productivity in manufacturing, to present negative correlation. We are entering the so-called “robots stealing jobs period” and great shifts in industry ecosystem and society as a whole are happening. Implication of presented research is to increase awareness of some missed economic and also social goals of transformation to Industry 4.0, calling for new strategic directions for industry humanization and economic eligibility. For this reason, we believe the opportunities for further development in this field should be carefully examined and oriented toward more sustainable and human friendly industry transformation.