General Motors has installed about 50 robot arms from Japanese manufacturer FANUC at its Factory Zero electric vehicle plant in Detroit, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the United Auto Workers union. The robots are used to attach components on the assembly line, but union leaders point out that 1,300 workers who were placed on temporary layoff in March have not been called back.
James Cotton, president of UAW Local 22, said over 1,000 members are still laid off indefinitely and argued the company could bring them back instead of adding more automation. The union sees the robot installation as part of a broader existential conflict between automakers and their workers over the future of manufacturing jobs.
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