Forget Valentine's Day, the American people are disregarding chocolate like crazy! American jobs that make candy have been on the decline over a number of years now. Upon reading, I found out that Americans consume only 5.5 pounds of cocoa beans a year.... like.. . what the heck?! I definitely thought we ate WAY more than that. I think I probably eat 5.5 pounds in a month. But as reporter Annalyn Kurtz from CNN News delves deeper into the decreasing job industry, she gets a statement from Hester Jeon, an IBISWorld analyst who specializes in covering food retailers and producers, and he states, "Producers from Hershey to Nestlé to Mars, are increasingly relying on computers and robotics to create products more efficiently – they're relying less on physical labor." But one of the main questions still presses: Why is this happening in the first place? There are two broader trends that are portraying themselves, and those are the fact technology is eliminating human labor and producers have shifted some work overseas. Companies, such as Hershey's (the biggest American producer of chocolate) invested $300 million in new machinery that would make chocolate 24/7. There were a lot of people who were trained to control and oversee the machinery, but they do not need as many people to wrap and do the jobs of the machines. Some of the factories, such as one in California, have shut down and moved across boarders or seas, like to Mexico. This is a definite loss of American jobs! I mean, I love chocolate AND I love American ingenuity, and I think that the people should be given the chance to pick up the slack and make the money they deserve. America was build off the toil and labor of men and women in this nation, not the oil and iron of machines to do all the work. Sure they can probably increase product efficiency in the market, but they can never outdo the hand-made quality of real items, especially the chocolate that we all know and love. For a few more figures, leaders in chocolate productions, and other information, go to:
http://economy.money.cnn.com/2014/02/13/chocolate-making-jobs-on-the-decline/?iid=SF_E_River
I too agree that machines are taking over jobs not only in the United States but all over the world! We are becoming too reliant, and at one point if they all break down, the world will be in chaos. The machines might help increase time of production, but they are no longer made with heart and care.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting! I definitely thought that Americans ate more chocolate... I think agree that the companies should keep the jobs in America. If they were built here, then they should employ Americans from here. Interesting article!
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