Foxconn, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer for a number of well-known companies including Nokia, is hiring 1 million robots in 3 years to cut labor expenses and increase efficiency. They currently have 10,000 robots and the total number will jump to 300,000 next year. Foxconn currently employs 1.2 million human workers, some of whom will be replaced by the robots.

Terry Gou, founder and chairman of Foxconn, told Xinhua the robots will be programmed to do routine and simple operations such as welding, spraying, and assembling. Foxconn is the world’s largest maker of electronic components. They have been in the spotlight after several reports of worker suicides.