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🇦🇺 Australia /Economy & Trade

Robots replace half of avocado packing workforce in Western Australia

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A Western Australian avocado packing facility has invested $17 million in Japanese robots to automate its operations.
  • The automation has allowed the Avocado Collective to halve its casual workforce while doubling production capacity, citing high labor costs and difficulty finding local staff.
  • While the company highlights advantages like reliability and safety, unions and labor experts express mixed feelings about the impact on employment.

In a quiet fruit packing shed in regional Western Australia, nine large Japanese robots are efficiently scanning, stacking, and shifting pallets of avocados. These machines have taken over tasks previously done by humans, enabling the Avocado Collective in Manjimup to cut its casual workforce in half while doubling its production capacity.

The collective invested $17 million in its robotic workforce, driven by high labor costs and concerns about changes to overseas worker schemes. "Realistically, we're talking everyone who hand stacks [pallets], everyone who scans, and everyone who drives forklifts," said operations manager Craig Boyce, noting the robots replaced between 40 and 50 staff.

They turn up to work every day, don't complain about a sore back, there are no health and safety issues, and you can load them up.

— Craig BoyceAvocado Collective operations manager Craig Boyce described the advantages of the robotic workforce.

Boyce highlighted the robots' advantages, including reliability and workplace safety. "They turn up to work every day, don't complain about a sore back, there are no health and safety issues, and you can load them up," he stated. The company, which calls itself Australia's largest packing facility, has automated three-quarters of its operations as part of a broader $20 million investment, increasing potential weekly output from 1 million kilograms to 2.52 million.

Realistically, we're talking everyone who hand stacks [pallets], everyone who scans, and everyone who drives forklifts.

— Craig BoyceCraig Boyce explained the range of roles the nine robots have replaced.

Growers acknowledge the challenges in finding local workers, with Manjimup heavily relying on migrant labor through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme. "It probably sounds like a dystopian nightmare that we are not employing people," said Dean French, a director at the collective. "But it means we don’t have to bring people in from overseas. We find it very difficult to get locals to work."

Despite the embrace of automation by growers, unions and labor experts hold reservations about its impact on employment. The shift towards robotics underscores a growing trend in industries facing labor shortages and rising costs.

But it means we don’t have to bring people in from overseas. We find it very difficult to get locals to work.

— Dean FrenchAvocado grower and collective director Dean French explained the rationale behind automation despite the value of migrant workers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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