Automation is revolutionizing routine manufacturing processes. It’s estimated 56 per cent of workers in key apparel sourcing countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, will lose their jobs to automation by 2040. Because of their reliance on low-skilled labor and the already apparent labor rights violations, these countries will be particularly at risk when the impact of automation starts to fully set in.

The impending job losses bots are set to bring are expected to produce a spike in slavery and labor abuses across global supply chains. Displaced workers without the skills to adapt or the cushion of social security will have to compete for a diminishing supply of low-paid, low-skilled work in what will likely be an increasingly exploitative environment.

While it may not be news that the advent of automation will mean the ouster of certain human manufacturing jobs, the underlying effect on ethical labor has largely gone undiscussed. Automation is revolutionizing routine manufacturing processes and lowering labor costs to the extent that companies in China and even the US may be able to undercut cheaper rivals.

The apparel, textile and footwear industry employs 39 per cent of all manufacturing workers in Vietnam, and the number climbs to a higher 59 per cent for Cambodia. In both countries, 85 per cent of jobs in the sector are at high risk of automation.