The effect of industrial robot use on unemployment and employment: Example of Manisa

Since the integration of robotic technologies, which we saw in the third industrial revolution, into the industry, the controversy of technology leading to unemployment has gained a different dimension. As the production has become increasingly robotic, the debate on the continuous increase in unemployment has come to the fore. Especially the concepts of autonomous robots and smart factories brought about by Industry 4.0, which was put forward in 2011, caused the discussions to grow. The aim of this study is to explain the effects of industrial robot use on these concepts by explaining the concepts of employment and unemployment. The study consists of three parts. In the first part, the concepts of employment and unemployment were analyzed and their boundaries were determined. In the second chapter, the concept of an industrial robot is explained and the emergence and development of industrial robotics are shown. In addition, the status of industrial robots and labor markets were examined and the process of change of labor concept was examined. In the last part, a research was conducted in the Manisa Organized Industry, based on Industry 4.0 standards and a research center was made at the center of the Vestel Dryer Plant. The method used in the research is the case study or case study method. In the factory subject to the study, interviewers were interviewed in the form of interviews with sufficient competencies and a detailed and in-depth investigation was attempted to answer the questions of why is that and why. As a result, both the unemployment-creating effect and the potential for job creation have been discovered by the use of industrial robots, and the resulting unemployment is not permanent unemployment. It has emerged that the use of industrial robots cannot be the only cause for unemployment to be seen in the economy and that macroeconomic variables should be examined in order to prevent unemployment and to ensure employment. In addition, when it is evaluated within the framework of Industry 4.0, it has been observed that a transformation which is considered as a process and correctly planned will produce constructive systems. Keywords: Industry 4.0, Revolution, Economy, Robot, Unemployment, Employment, Artificial intelligence, Smart Factories, Cyber-Physical Systems