RISE OF THE ROBOT

ROBOTS AREN’T KILLING JOBS, THEY’RE CREATING NEW ONES AT A GE PLANT IN QUEBEC. ALSO, ’PATCH GREETS A ‘ TECHNICAL RENAISSANCE.’ FP10-FP11

About 180 robots are doing work that humans used to do at this GE Aviation plant in Bromont, Que. that makes parts for jet engines. But they haven’t replaced the humans. Indeed, the opposite is true. Since a new, automated section of the plant ramped up at the start of the decade, the number of people working here has risen to more than 900 from 600.

“A machine is not replacing three jobs,” said Eric Bouchard, senior operations manager at the Bromont plant. “It is reopening those jobs somewhere else because of production.”

The economics are simple. Since GE Aviation’s Bromont plant started using automation in the 1990s, the number of human hours needed to produce output has dropped an average of five per cent per year. That led to the decision to invest $ 85 million in the plant between 2010 and 2016 to increase automation. GE Aviation says robots are responsible for a 25- per- cent increase in output over those years.

The Bromont experience is a small example of a larger trend occurring in industries ranging from manufacturing to energy to banking: Automation unleashes gains in productivity that can actually boost employment and benefit the economy as a whole, though the experience will no doubt be disruptive for many of those who initially lose their jobs.

Even the Bank of Canada, the keeper of the country’s economy, recognizes jobs will be lost as robots replace some workers. But long- run economic history suggests that the adverse effects of robotization will be short term.