Apple wants to remove workers from the iPhone assembly line

The source revealed that Apple has asked to reduce the number of workers on the final assembly lines of the iPhone by 50%.

Apple asked to reduce the number of employees on the assembly line by half in the following years. Photo: The Irish Times.

In an effort to automate the production line, Apple recently planned to cut the number of iPhone assembly workers by half, despite the possibility of major impacts on the international labor market.

According to The Information, Apple’s senior vice president, Sabih Khan has sent a request to regulators to “reduce the number of workers on the final assembly line of the iPhone by 50% over the next few years.”

In fact, the process of cutting workers has been quietly implemented by Apple for more than a year. Apple’s 2023 supply chain report shows that the company has reduced the number of employees it oversees at its manufacturing partners from 1.6 million in 2022 to just 1.4 million in 2023, representing a 12.5% decline in just one year.

The promotion of automation will help reduce labor, which could theoretically reduce part of the cost of manufacturing iPhones and other products.

However, machines used in automation often cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and many of Apple’s manufacturing partners are not willing to make that investment.

Another reason cited by AppleInsider is that Apple wants to avoid the inherent problems of the human factor in production, especially after violent clashes between iPhone assembly workers and police outside Foxconn’s factory in November 2022.

Even so, according to the report, Apple’s automation still has some problems. Specifically, the robots used for the test had difficulty fitting small pieces with the required accuracy and could not find the proper location of the screws and torque.