China Has a Robot Problem

The story first turned up in mid-May: Foxconn, Apple's favorite manufacturer, was replacing 60,000 of its workers with robots. Everyone from the BBC to Apple fan sites soon reported the ground-shifting news. There was just one problem: It was mostly false. Last weekend, a Foxconn spokesperson told Chinese media that the company hadn't laid off anyone, much less replaced them with automation. That part of the story came from overly enthusiastic bureaucrats in Kunshan, a manufacturing town keen to promote itself as a hub for innovation. The incident seemed like an apt metaphor.