German Companies Turn to Robots to Fill Jobs for Retiring Workers

German businesses are increasingly turning to robots to fill jobs as the country faces a severe labor shortage.

由于德国面临严重的劳动力短缺，德国企业越来越多地转向机器人来填补职位空缺。

The situation left about 1.7 million jobs unfilled across Germany in June, official data showed. The country’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry has estimated that half of German businesses are currently struggling to fill positions. Germany is Europe’s largest economy.

官方数据显示，6 月份德国各地约有 170 万个职位空缺。 德国工商会估计，目前有一半的德国企业正在努力填补职位空缺。 德国是欧洲最大的经济体。

One of the country’s biggest labor issues is the large number of people retiring from the so-called Baby Boomer generation. People in this group are between the ages of 57 and 75. The nation’s birth rate has also been going down for years.

该国最大的劳工问题之一是所谓的婴儿潮一代的大量人员退休。 这个群体的年龄在57岁到75岁之间。该国的出生率也多年来一直在下降。

Economic experts say it is difficult to replace these retiring workers. Many younger workers do not want to take jobs seen as dirty and dangerous.

经济专家表示，很难替代这些退休工人。 许多年轻工人不愿意从事被视为肮脏和危险的工作。

The job shortage situation is currently reducing growth in Germany by about $109 billion a year, official estimates suggest. The Federal Employment Agency predicts the amount of available workers will shrink by 7 million people by 2035.

官方估计，目前就业短缺的情况导致德国的经济增长每年减少约 1090 亿美元。 联邦就业局预测，到 2035 年，可用工人数量将减少 700 万人。

The problem is affecting large, medium and small businesses across the country. Some have decided to replace retiring workers with robotic systems.

这个问题正在影响全国的大、中、小型企业。 一些人决定用机器人系统取代退休工人。

With similar issues affecting other developed economies, robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will continue to expand, said Nela Richardson. She is the chief economist at financial provider ADP.

Nela Richardson 表示，由于类似问题也影响着其他发达经济体，机器人和人工智能 (AI) 技术将继续扩展。 她是金融提供商 ADP 的首席经济学家。

"Long term, all those innovations are a game-changer for the world of work. Everybody will do their job differently," Richardson told Reuters.

“从长远来看，所有这些创新都会改变工作世界的游戏规则。每个人都会以不同的方式完成自己的工作，”理查森告诉路透社。

Heavy investment in automation by carmakers and other major industrial companies has made Germany the world's fourth-largest market for robots – the largest in Europe.

汽车制造商和其他主要工业公司对自动化的大量投资使德国成为世界第四大机器人市场，也是欧洲最大的机器人市场。

But as robots become less costly and easier to operate, even smaller companies are also using them. The International Federation of Robotics has estimated that about 26,000 robotic machines were put in place in Germany last year.

但随着机器人成本变得更低、更容易操作，甚至规模较小的公司也在使用它们。 国际机器人联合会估计，去年德国安装了约 26,000 台机器人。

"Robots enable the survival of companies that see their future at risk due to staff shortages," said Ralf Winkelmann, director of FANUC Germany. The company sells about half its Japanese-made robots to small and medium-sized businesses.

德国发那科公司总监拉尔夫·温克尔曼 (Ralf Winkelmann) 表示：“那些因员工短缺而面临未来风险的公司，机器人能够帮助他们生存。” 该公司将大约一半的日本制造机器人出售给中小企业。

Family-run ROLEC is a German company that produces systems to protect industrial electronics and control equipment. It bought its first robot last year to permit production to continue at night. ROLEC has already bought a second machine and plans to continue investing in automation.

家族经营的 ROLEC 是一家德国公司，生产保护工业电子和控制设备的系统。 该公司去年购买了第一台机器人，以允许在夜间继续生产。 ROLEC 已经购买了第二台机器，并计划继续投资自动化。

"It is great when you turn on the light in the morning and the parts are in the storage container and have been processed," ROLEC’s CEO Matthias Rose told Reuters.

ROLEC 首席执行官马蒂亚斯·罗斯 (Matthias Rose) 告诉路透社：“早上打开灯，零件就在存储容器中并且已经过处理，这真是太棒了。”

Industry experts say increasing robotic operations are also a sign that robots have become easier to use, with no special skills required. Most now come with a Human Machine Interface, which operates similarly to a smartphone, said Florian Andre. He is a co-founder of SHERPA Robotics, a start-up that targets companies with between 20 and 100 employees.

行业专家表示，机器人操作的增加也表明机器人变得更容易使用，无需特殊技能。 弗洛里安·安德烈 (Florian Andre) 表示，现在大多数都配备了人机界面，其操作方式与智能手机类似。 他是 SHERPA Robotics 的联合创始人，这是一家面向员工人数在 20 到 100 名的公司的初创公司。

Even workers and trade unions – which in the past were fearful of job losses linked to robots – have taken an increasingly favorable position. A public opinion study published in June by a robots marketplace organization found that nearly half of German employees see robots as a help to the labor shortage.

就连工人和工会——过去担心机器人带来的失业——也采取了越来越有利的立场。 机器人市场组织 6 月发布的一项民意研究发现，近一半的德国员工认为机器人有助于解决劳动力短缺问题。