“Each machine could replace between one and six workers, and the largest factories surveyed anticipated cutting 22% of their workforce.”
Eighty percent of surveyed Dhaka garment factories plan to buy semi-automated machines within two years. Tracking devices flag slow workers in real time, and one woman stopped using the bathroom to keep up. The automation push followed the minimum wage rise to $104 a month. Women went from 85% of the workforce in 1991 to 57% in 2023.