Construction jobs could go to bricklaying robots
AS many as 1,500 construction workers in Halton could lose their jobs to robots in the next few years.
Construction Robotics has created a bricklaying robot that it says works three to five times faster than human builders can manage.
The American company wants to introduce the machine to Britain in the next few years.
In Runcorn and Widnes, 1,500 people worked in construction in 2016 - all jobs that could be at risk if automation makes its way into the industry.
Across Cheshire as a whole, 13,100 people worked in the industry last year.
Men do the vast majority of building work – so much so that the Office For National Statistics (ONS) estimated that men filled all 13,100 of these at-risk jobs.
One million people across Britain worked in the building and construction industry in 2016.
Torbay in Devon, Doncaster and East Sussex had some of the highest shares of workers employed in the sector.
Construction Robotics said their robots still need some human supervision to work properly but estimates that contractors can save 50% on their labour costs.
Alison Carnwath, the chair of construction firms Land Securities said she anticipated bricklaying robots operating in the City Of London in the near future.
At the Institute Of Directors’ annual convention last autumn, she said: “Five years ago I’d have smiled wryly if somebody had said to me that robots would be able to put up buildings in the City Of London – I tell you we’re not that far off, and that has huge implications.” ●