IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ecoind/v43y2022i2p726-747.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The extent of job automation in the automobile sector in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Bianca I Chigbu
  • Fhulu H Nekhwevha

Abstract

This study argues that the automobile sector’s body shop is fully automated, the paint shop is 80% automated, there is about 20% technology utilization in the car assembly line, and the supply for logistics is making a lot more use of machines as well. These percentages are an indicator of how workers have lost the contest with technology in the industry. Many workers are being deskilled and the remaining workers are being reshuffled to assembly lines likely to be automated with time. There should be interventions to ready the workers to adapt to society and the economy, or there will be massive unemployment.

Suggested Citation

  • Bianca I Chigbu & Fhulu H Nekhwevha, 2022. "The extent of job automation in the automobile sector in South Africa," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(2), pages 726-747, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:43:y:2022:i:2:p:726-747
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X20940779
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0143831X20940779
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0143831X20940779?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geraint Harvey & Andy Hodder & Stephen Brammer, 2017. "Trade union participation in CSR deliberation: an evaluation," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 42-55, January.
    2. Nir Jaimovich & Henry E. Siu, 2020. "Job Polarization and Jobless Recoveries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(1), pages 129-147, March.
    3. Andrew Kerr & Martin Wittenberg & Jairo Arrow, 2014. "Job Creation and Destruction in South Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 82(1), pages 1-18, March.
    4. David Masondo, 2018. "South African business nanny state: the case of the automotive industrial policy post-apartheid, 1995–2010," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(156), pages 203-222, April.
    5. Cody, John,, 2015. "How labor manages productivity advances and crisis response : a comparative study of automotive manufacturing in Germany and the US," ILO Working Papers 994871573402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Schumpeter, Joseph A., 1947. "The Creative Response in Economic History," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(2), pages 149-159, November.
    7. Dani Rodrik, 2016. "Premature deindustrialization," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-33, March.
    8. Komlos John, 2016. "Has Creative Destruction become more Destructive?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 16(4), pages 1-12, October.
    9. Natascha Mueller-Hirth, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Development in South Africa: Socio-economic Contexts and Contemporary Issues," CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance, in: Stephen Vertigans & Samuel O. Idowu & René Schmidpeter (ed.), Corporate Social Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa, edition 1, chapter 0, pages 51-68, Springer.
    10. Naude, Wim & Szirmai, Adam & Haraguchi, Nobuya (ed.), 2015. "Structural Change and Industrial Development in the BRICS," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198725077.
    11. Rajah Rasiah, 2011. "Ownership and Technological Capabilities: Evidence from Automotive Firms in Brazil, India and South Africa," Institutions and Economies (formerly known as International Journal of Institutions and Economies), Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, vol. 3(2), pages 203-234, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Auktor, Georgeta Vidican, 2022. "The opportunities and challenges of Industry 4.0 for industrial development: A case study of Morocco's automotive and garment sectors," IDOS Discussion Papers 2/2022, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    2. Fischer Yannick, 2020. "Basic Income, Labour Automation and Migration – An Approach from a Republican Perspective," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 1-034, December.
    3. Gouthami Kothakapa & Samyukta Bhupatiraju & Rahul A. Sirohi, 2021. "Revisiting the link between financial development and industrialization: evidence from low and middle income countries," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 215-230, June.
    4. Chigbu, Bianca Ifeoma & Nekhwevha, Fhulu H., 2021. "The future of work and uncertain labour alternatives as we live through the industrial age of possible singularity: Evidence from South Africa," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    5. Wang, Cong & Lu, Yifan, 2020. "Can economic structural change and transition explain cross-country differences in innovative activity?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    6. Njangang, Henri & Chameni Nembua, Célestin & Nembot Ndeffo, Luc, 2018. "Can Chinese foreign direct investment promote industrialization in African countries?," MPRA Paper 89726, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Alessandro Nuvolari & Emanuele Russo, 2019. "Technical progress and structural change: a long-term view," LEM Papers Series 2019/17, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    8. John C. Anyanwu & Joanna C. Anyanwu, 2018. "Accounting for the Rising Value Added in Services Compared to That in Agriculture in African Economies," Asian Journal of Economic Modelling, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 6(4), pages 476-500, December.
    9. Naudé, Wim, 2018. "Brilliant Technologies and Brave Entrepreneurs: A New Narrative for African Manufacturing," IZA Discussion Papers 11941, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Wojciech Hardy & Roma Keister & Piotr Lewandowski, 2018. "Educational upgrading, structural change and the task composition of jobs in Europe," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(2), pages 201-231, April.
    11. Varun Kumar Das & A. Ganesh-Kumar, 2019. "Off-the-farm livelihood choice of farm households in India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2019-032, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    12. Ugo Colombino & Nizamul Islam, 2022. "The “Robot Economy†and optimal tax-transfer reforms," CHILD Working Papers Series 101 JEL Classification: H, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    13. Naudé, Wim, 2017. "Entrepreneurship, Education and the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa," IZA Discussion Papers 10855, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Naude, Wim, 2018. "Structural transformation in Africa: New technologies, resurgent entrepreneurship and the revival of manufacturing," MERIT Working Papers 2018-045, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    15. Colombino, Ugo & Islam, Nizamul, 2022. "The "Robot Economy" and Optimal Tax-Transfer Reforms," IZA Discussion Papers 15198, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Lance Wentzel & Julius Ayodeji Fapohunda & Rainer Haldenwang, 2023. "A Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Model to Achieve Sustainable Business Performance (SBP) of SMEs in the South African Construction Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-28, June.
    17. Andrés Langebaek R. & Diego Vásquez E., 2007. "Determinantes de la actividad innovadora en la industria manufacturera colombiana," Borradores de Economia 433, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    18. Özgür Orhangazi & A. Erinç Yeldan, 2021. "The Re‐making of the Turkish Crisis," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(3), pages 460-503, May.
    19. Luis Bauluz & Yajna Govind & Filip Novokmet, 2020. "Global Land Inequality," PSE Working Papers halshs-03022318, HAL.
    20. Kevin x.d. Huang & Jie Chen & Zhe Li & Jianfei Sun, 2014. "Financial Conditions and Slow Recoveries," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 14-00004, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:43:y:2022:i:2:p:726-747. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ekhist.uu.se/english.htm .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.