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No: Foxconn has not announced a plan to fully replace people with robots. The company has described expanding automation, and chairman Young Liu has discussed a broader future role for generative AI and robotics. But Liu also said Foxconn tried to replace every human in a process and quickly found it could not. A reported 80% figure concerns a limited category of equipment setup or related problem-solving work—not 80% of Foxconn’s workers.

What Foxconn has actually said

Foxconn’s public statements point to more automation, not a declared end to human factory work. In its August 2024 earnings-call transcript, the company said it would continue increasing automation, robot use, and automation coverage to improve production speed, precision, and flexibility. It named automated guided vehicles and robot arms as examples used on production lines.

That is a stated direction for production, not an announcement that all people—or all workers making Apple products—will be replaced. The transcript does not set out a total-replacement target or timetable.

What Liu’s 2025 remarks mean

At COMPUTEX 2025, Foxconn chairman Young Liu spoke about automation and the limits of replacing human workers. The Register’s contemporaneous report quotes him saying: “We thought maybe we could replace every human,” Liu admitted. “We quickly realized we could not.”

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The same report attributes to Liu the observation that “Generative AI and robotics will fill the void,” in the context of low-GDP work as countries become more prosperous. That is a broad prediction about a category of work, not a dated plan for every Foxconn facility or Apple production line. The reported remarks support the view that Foxconn sees robotics and AI taking on some tasks while skilled people remain necessary.

What the reported 80% figure covers

The Register’s May 20, 2025 report attributes an 80% figure to work involved in setting up equipment for a new production run or related manufacturing problem-solving. It is not a claim that 80% of Foxconn employees, jobs, or Apple assembly workers will be displaced. Liu reportedly said the more difficult remaining tasks still required skilled human workers.

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The report does not give a Foxconn-wide count or percentage of workers affected. The task-level figure cannot be used to calculate layoffs, the share of factory jobs automated, or the future staffing of Apple production.

Where Foxconn is applying AI and robotics

AI for production and quality work

In its November 2024 earnings-call transcript, Foxconn described a generative AI initiative with BCG covering production parameters, equipment management, and quality inspection. It also described working with Intrinsic on a robot application management platform. These are named efforts in manufacturing operations; the transcript does not say they eliminate the need for all human workers.

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Manufacturing robots for another company

In May 2025, Foxconn announced a manufacturing partnership with Robust.AI to scale production of the Carter collaborative robotics platform. That shows Foxconn is expanding its role in robotics manufacturing. It is not evidence of a plan to remove people from Apple production.

What is—and is not—established

Claim or activity What the available evidence says What it does not establish
More factory automation Foxconn said in its August 2024 earnings call that it would increase automation, robot use, and coverage, citing automated guided vehicles and robot arms. A plan or timetable to replace every human worker.
Generative AI and robotics in manufacturing Foxconn described work with BCG on production parameters, equipment management, and quality inspection, and with Intrinsic on a robot application management platform in November 2024. The number or percentage of workers displaced by these efforts.
Reported 80% figure The Register attributed the figure to equipment setup or related problem-solving work discussed by Liu at COMPUTEX 2025. 80% of Foxconn’s workforce, factory jobs, or Apple assembly work.
Robust.AI partnership Foxconn announced in May 2025 that it would help scale production of the Carter collaborative robotics platform. A workforce-replacement policy for Apple manufacturing.

Apple’s supplier-responsibility information discusses worker feedback and workplace-rights programs. It provides general context on supplier workers, but does not substantiate a Foxconn total-replacement claim.

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Bottom line

Foxconn is increasing automation and exploring AI and robotics for specific manufacturing tasks. The available company statements and reported COMPUTEX remarks do not show that it has announced a plan to fully replace humans with robots. Nor do they provide a verified figure for how many Foxconn or Apple manufacturing workers may be displaced.

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