Automation and labour in the Brazilian car industry

Abstract

This article analyses the implications of new automation technologies for labour in Newly Industrialised Countries, by way of a case study of the Brazilian car industry. The research revealed no technological unemployment at the aggregate level but labour per unit of output decreased in automated production lines. The share of skilled workers increased mainly due to an absolute increase of maintenance jobs. Skill requirements within maintenance rose. In contrast the share of production workers and their skill requirements decreased. In comparison with car plants in advanced countries, the displacement of operators remained selective, restricted mainly to operations strategic for quality. Integration of line operations, whether carried out by robots or people, increased. As a result, electronics‐based automation has not superseded Fordist work organisation but reinforced it. However, due to high costs of interruption, management was increasingly concerned with workers’ reliability and sought to stabilise the labour force. These and other results are used to reflect on the differences in automation and labour utilisation between advanced and Newly Industrialised Countries.