Changing job market: Automation slams brakes on shop-floor jobs

Sales, service network are the new engines of job growth in the automotive sector

Ajay Kumar Jain, the chairman of the Rs 300 crore-auto component manufacturing company PPAP, opted to source 20 robots when it commenced operations at its Bhiwadi plant three years ago. That did away with the need to hire 60 additional workers.
 
“One robot can do three-crew shifts of eight hours daily without a break. The upfront investment of Rs 20 lakh for such a robot can be recovered in three-four years,” says Jain, who supplies car parts to companies, including Maruti Suzuki and Honda Cars. The life of a robot is at least 10 years and one can