American & German robots lose jobs to Asian robots as Adidas shifts manufacturing
American
robots lose jobs to Asian robots as Adidas shifts manufacturing
Adidas plans to close high-tech “robot” factories in Germany and
the United States that it launched to bring production closer to customers,
saying Monday that deploying some of the technology in Asia would be “more
economic and flexible.”
The Adidas factories were part of a drive to
meet demand for faster delivery of new styles to its major markets and to
counter rising wages in Asia and higher shipping costs. It originally planned a
global network of similar factories.
The German sportswear company did not give
details on why it was closing the facilities, which have proved expensive and
where the technology has been difficult to extend to different products.
Martin Shankland, Adidas’ head of global
operations, said the factories had helped the company improve its expertise in
innovative manufacturing, but it aimed to apply what it had learned with its
suppliers.
Adidas started production of shoes largely by
robots at its “Speedfactory” in the southern town of Ansbach near its Bavarian
headquarters in 2016 and opened another near Atlanta in 2017.
Founded by German cobbler Adi Dassler in
1949, Adidas has shifted most of its production from Europe to Asia and now
relies on more than 1 million workers in contract factories, particularly in
China and Vietnam.
However, Adidas said Monday that production
at the two factories would be discontinued by April 2020 at the latest as it
focuses instead on using the technologies they pioneered to produce shoes at
two of its suppliers in Asia.
The suppliers would use the techniques to
make a broader range of products with a short production time, not just running
shoes, while Adidas will keep testing manufacturing processes at its so-called
adiLab site in Scheinfeld, Germany.
It said it would continue to work with
Oechsler, the German company that operates the two factories, in other
manufacturing areas, such as producing soles for its springy Boost shoes, as
well as soles for soccer shoes and advanced 3D-printed soles.
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