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China robotics industry cools down as top maker of robot waiting staff slashes jobs
- The founder of Pudu Technology, which raised a billion yuan last year, says the company needs to lay off some staff to survive
- As China’s population ages and labour costs rise, some people have hoped that robots could gradually replace human beings in some jobs
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A major Chinese maker of robot waiting staff is cutting jobs in the company, in a sign that the country’s robotics industry is cooling down, as the prospects of profitability remain remote.
Shenzhen-based Pudu Technology, which received 1 billion yuan (US$149 million) from investors including Tencent Holdings, Meituan and Sequoia Capital in a fundraising round last year, will start laying off employees, according to a leaked letter from founder and CEO Felix Zhang Tao.
“We’ve decided to cut some operations and businesses of our company to survive. It’s a difficult decision,” Zhang wrote, adding that private equity investments in the country have dropped to their lowest point in decades.
Pudu has to make a profit to “survive the long winter”, said Zhang.
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The robots replacing humans in China’s service industry
The robots replacing humans in China’s service industry
Two employees at Pudu confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
While the letter did not specify the size of the job cuts, about 800 people could be laid off, according to a report by iFeng, the news portal affiliated with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV.
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