More than half of
workers in five Southeast Asian countries are at high risk of losing their jobs
to automation in the next two decades, an International Labour Organisation
(ILO) study found – with those in the garments industry particularly
vulnerable.
 
About 137 million workers or
56% of the salaried workforce from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines,
Thailand and Vietnam, fall under the high-risk category, the study showed.
 
“Countries that compete on
low-wage labour need to reposition themselves. Price advantage is no longer
enough,” said Deborah France-Massin, director for the ILO’s bureau for
employers’ activities.
 
The report said workers have to
be trained to work effectively alongside digitalised machines.
 
Southeast Asia is home to more
than 630 million people and is a hub for several manufacturing sectors,
including textiles, vehicles and hard disk drives.
 
Of the nine million people working in the region’s textiles, clothing and
footwear industry, 64% of Indonesian workers are at high risk of losing their
jobs to automation, 86% in Vietnam, and 88%t in Cambodia.
 
Garment manufacturers in
Cambodia, who take orders from retailers such as Adidas, Marks and Spencer and
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, employ about 600,000 people.







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Neighbouring Vietnam is seeing
record investment in its footwear and textiles industries, due to new
free-trade pacts with major markets, including the US-led Trans-Pacific
Partnership. It is the second-largest garment supplier behind China to the US.
 
The UNs agency said
technologies including 3D printing, wearable technology, nanotechnology and
robotic automation could disrupt the sector.
 
“Robots are becoming better at
assembly, cheaper and increasingly able to collaborate with people,” the ILO
said.
 
The textiles, clothing and
footwear sector is at the highest risk of automation out of five industries
analysed in the study, including automotive and auto parts, electrical and
electronics, business process outsourcing and retail.
 
In the automotive and auto
parts industry, more than 60% of salaried workers in Indonesia, and over 70% of
those in Thailand face the risk of their jobs being displaced.
 
Southeast Asia’s automotive
sector, the seventh-largest producer of vehicles in 2015 globally, employs more
than 800,000 workers, the report said.
 
Known as the “Detroit of
Southeast Asia”, Thailand is a regional production and export hub for the
world’s top carmakers.
 
The auto sector accounts for
around 10% of Thai GDP and employs a 10th of its workers in manufacturing.