Marching Toward Automation: Whether and How Labor Shapes Technological Processes in Chinese Factories

Abstract

The influence of technological changes on work has long been debated, but labor's impact on technology, especially in rapid-industrializing economies, deserves more research. This study explores labor's influence on automation in China, based on long-term investigations of eight automotive suppliers. Each of these factories, following the 2010 strikes, established enterprise unions that engage in regular collective bargaining, making them among the country's most active grassroots trade unions. As is typical in the industry, management in all these factories has been actively pursuing automation. However, their automation processes have diverged widely. By comparing these processes, this study identifies two key labor impacts on technology: the first arises from the productive characteristics of labor, and the second from workers' collective action. Both types influence the form and pace of technology adoption in China. The former, based on labor costs, skills, and other productive attributes, structurally constrains automation choices. Action-based union effects, which are prominent in some Western unions, remain limited and primarily defensive and may weaken further as the march of automation continues.