VOA时事新闻2023 德国企业使用机器人缓解劳动力短缺问题（在线收听）

德国企业使用机器人缓解劳动力短缺问题

German businesses are increasingly turning to robots to fill jobs as the country faces a severe labor shortage.

由于德国面临严重的劳动力短缺，越来越多的德国企业使用机器人来填补职位空缺。

The situation left about 1.7 million jobs unfilled across Germany in June, official data showed.

官方数据显示，6月份，德国各地约有170万个职位空缺。

The country's Chambers of Commerce and Industry has estimated that half of German businesses are currently struggling to fill positions.

德国工商会估计，目前有一半的德国企业难以填补职位空缺。

Germany is Europe's largest economy.

德国是欧洲最大的经济体。

One of the country's biggest labor issues is the large number of people retiring from the so-called Baby Boomer generation.

该国最大的劳工问题之一是所谓的婴儿潮一代退休的人数众多。

People in this group are between the ages of 57 and 75.

这一群体的人的年龄在57岁到75岁之间。

The nation's birth rate has also been going down for years.

多年来，该国的出生率也一直在下降。

Economic experts say it is difficult to replace these retiring workers.

经济专家表示，很难找到替代这些退休工人的人。

Many younger workers do not want to take jobs seen as dirty and dangerous.

许多年轻工人不愿从事肮脏和危险的工作。

The job shortage situation is currently reducing growth in Germany by about $109 billion a year, official estimates suggest.

据官方估计，目前德国的就业短缺情况正使德国的经济增长每年减少约1090亿美元。

The Federal Employment Agency predicts the amount of available workers will shrink by 7 million people by 2035.

联邦就业机构预测，到2035年，可用的工人数量将会减少700万人。

The problem is affecting large, medium and small businesses across the country.

这个问题正在影响全国的大、中、小企业。

Some have decided to replace retiring workers with robotic systems.

一些公司已经决定用机器人系统取代退休的工人。

With similar issues affecting other developed economies, robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will continue to expand, said Nela Richardson.

内拉·理查森表示，随着类似问题影响到其他发达经济体，机器人和人工智能技术将会继续发展。

She is the chief economist at financial provider ADP.

她是金融服务提供商ADP的首席经济学家。

"Long term, all those innovations are a game-changer for the world of work. Everybody will do their job differently," Richardson told Reuters.

理查森告诉路透社：“从长远来看，所有这些创新都会改变职场的游戏规则。每个人的工作方式都会不同。”

Heavy investment in automation by carmakers and other major industrial companies has made Germany the world's fourth-largest market for robots – the largest in Europe.

汽车制造商和其他大型工业公司在自动化方面的巨额投资使德国成为全球第四大机器人市场，也是欧洲最大的机器人市场。

But as robots become less costly and easier to operate, even smaller companies are also using them.

但随着机器人变得更便宜、更容易操作，更小的公司也会使用它们。

The International Federation of Robotics has estimated that about 26,000 robotic machines were put in place in Germany last year.

国际机器人联合会估计，去年德国安装了大约2.6万台机器人。

"Robots enable the survival of companies that see their future at risk due to staff shortages," said Ralf Winkelmann, director of FANUC Germany.

发那科德国董事拉尔夫·温克尔曼说：“机器人让那些认为未来因员工短缺而面临风险的公司得以生存。”

The company sells about half its Japanese-made robots to small and medium-sized businesses.

该公司将大约一半的日本制造的机器人卖给了中小企业。

Family-run ROLEC is a German company that produces systems to protect industrial electronics and control equipment.

家族经营的ROLEC是一家德国公司，其生产保护工业电子产品和控制设备的系统。

It bought its first robot last year to permit production to continue at night.

该公司去年购买了第一台机器人，以便在夜间继续生产。

ROLEC has already bought a second machine and plans to continue investing in automation.

ROLEC已经购买了第二台机器，并计划继续投资于自动化。

"It is great when you turn on the light in the morning and the parts are in the storage container and have been processed," ROLEC's CEO Matthias Rose told Reuters.

ROLEC的首席执行官马蒂亚斯·罗斯告诉路透社：“当你早上打开灯，零件就在储存箱里，并且已经加工过了，这真是太棒了。”

Industry experts say increasing robotic operations are also a sign that robots have become easier to use, with no special skills required.

业内专家表示，越来越多的机器人业务也表明机器人变得更容易使用，不需要特殊技能。

Most now come with a Human Machine Interface, which operates similarly to a smartphone, said Florian Andre.

弗洛里安·安德烈说，现在大多数机器人都配备了人机界面，其操作方式类似于智能手机。

He is a co-founder of SHERPA Robotics, a start-up that targets companies with between 20 and 100 employees.

他是SHERPA Robotics的联合创始人，这家初创公司的目标是成为拥有20到100名员工的公司。

Even workers and trade unions – which in the past were fearful of job losses linked to robots – have taken an increasingly favorable position.

就连工人和工会——他们过去担心机器人会导致失业——也采取了越来越有利的立场。

A public opinion study published in June by a robots marketplace organization found that nearly half of German employees see robots as a help to the labor shortage.

一家机器人市场组织在6月份发布的一项民意调查发现，近一半的德国员工认为机器人有助于解决劳动力短缺问题。