this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2026
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And, a recent tour of one of the Asian powerhouse's vehicle plants has proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt, at least to Honda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe.

"We have no chance against this," Mibe said upon a visit to a Shanghai parts factory, commenting on its seamless automation across all levels of production. Logistics, procurement and all aspects of the process were so automated, in fact, that he did not spot a single human worker on the supplier's floor.

Ford executives saying even three years ago that China was way ahead of the game

Toyota's CEO has likewise said regarding not just his company, but the industry in general, "unless things change, we will not survive"

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[–] No_Eponym@lemmy.ca 28 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

automation across all levels of production

Maybe its true. Regardless, article sounds like anti-worker propaganda to me. China is gonna eat our lunch! Better take a pay cut, and be glad you're not laid off!

[–] Zetta@mander.xyz 17 points 11 hours ago

I get your perspective, but complete automation with as little human input as possible is exactly how you make cheap products.

[–] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 6 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

This has been reported on by multiple sources outside of the automotive industry about the rise of dark factories in China.

It's not a secret that China has heavily invested in automation in part due to the necessity thanks to unforeseen consequences of the one child policy. There's a very much lack of labor workers because the current generation are full of people who ultra emphasized education, even in rural areas, and this generation has no intention of working labor jobs. I don't think Western countries, especially America with their abysmal education and having the average citizen reading at a sixth grade level wouldn't be able to absorb that level of automation without tanking the economy unlike China's unique situation.

Now what I'm going to probably find interesting is what's going to happen when inevitably with the revocation of the one child policy and you see the next generation of young adults that may not have the same level of education since you now can't pump all your resources in the singular kid and how that's going to affect them. I do wonder how long this competitive advantage will last.