German Companies Turn to Robots to Fill Jobs for Retiring Workers

German Companies Turn to Robots to Fill Jobs for Retiring Workers

德国公司依靠机器人来填补退休工人的工作岗位

【原文听力】

　　By Bryan Lynn

　　31 October 2023

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

　　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.

　　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.

　　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.

　　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.

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

　　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.

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

　　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.

　　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.

　　"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.

　　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.

　　"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.

　　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.

　　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.

　　I'm Gena Bennett.

　　Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English.

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　　布莱恩·林恩

　　2023年10月31日

　　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工作岗位。

　　官方数据显示，这种情况导致德国6月份约有170万个职位空缺。该国的工商会估计，一半的德国企业目前正在努力填补职位。德国是欧洲最大的经济体。

　　美国最大的劳工问题之一是大量所谓的婴儿潮一代退休。这个群体的人年龄在57岁到75岁之间。该国的出生率多年来也一直在下降。

　　A robot machine is seen at ROLEC Gehause-Systeme in Rinteln, Germany on October 6, 2023. (Courtesy of Matthias Rose/Handout via REUTERS)

　　2023年10月6日，德国Rinteln的ROLEC ge house-Systeme展示了一台机器人机器。(马蒂亚斯·罗斯提供/路透社分发)

　　经济专家说很难找到替代这些退休工人的人。许多较年轻的工人不想从事被视为肮脏和危险的工作。

　　官方估计显示，就业短缺的情况目前正使德国每年的经济增长减少约1090亿美元。联邦就业局预测，到2035年，可用工人的数量将减少700万人。

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

　　内拉·理查森说，随着类似的问题影响其他发达经济体，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。

　　“长期来看，所有这些改革是职场游戏的改变者。每个人都会以不同的方式完成自己的工作，”理查森告诉路透社记者。

　　对...的大量投资自动化汽车制造商和其他主要工业公司的并购使德国成为世界第四大机器人市场，也是欧洲最大的市场。

　　但是随着机器人变得更便宜和更容易操作，甚至更小的公司也在使用它们。国际机器人联合会估计，去年德国安装了大约26000台机器人。

　　“机器人让那些认为自己的未来面临风险的公司得以生存，原因是员工短缺，”德国FANUC公司董事拉尔夫·温克尔曼说。该公司向中小型企业出售约一半日本制造的机器人。

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

　　ROLEC的首席执行官马蒂亚斯·罗斯(Matthias Rose)告诉路透社记者:“当你早上打开灯，零件在储存容器中并经过处理时，感觉棒极了。”。

　　行业专家表示，越来越多的机器人操作也表明机器人变得更容易使用，不需要特殊技能。Florian Andre说，现在大多数都带有人机界面，操作类似于智能手机。他是夏尔巴机器人公司(SHERPA Robotics)的联合创始人，这家初创公司的目标客户是拥有20至100名员工的公司。

　　甚至工人和贸易联合过去担心与机器人相关的失业问题，现在已经占据了越来越有利的位置。一个机器人市场组织在6月份公布的一项民意调查发现，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。

　　我是吉娜·班尼特。

　　路透社报道了这个故事。布莱恩·林恩为美国之音学习英语改编了这篇报道。

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　　这个故事中的词语

　　innovation – adj.引进新思想、新设备或新方法的行为或过程

　　automate – n. 用机器而不是人来控制某物

　　staff – n. 为一个组织工作的人

　　union – n. 为保护其成员的权利和利益而成立的工人组织