Rotterdam’s pioneering automated container terminals face tough challenges as they strive to hit ambitious productivity targets in their first full year of operations with the rest of the European waterfront looking on.
The year got off to a bad start, with every container crane in Rotterdam stalled for 24 hours last month as longshoremen downed tools to protest looming job losses due to accelerating automation at Europe’s top box hub.
And there could be more disruption unless terminal operators nail down a deal with unions over employment guarantees for 800 of the port’s 3,500 container workers whose jobs are at risk as robots take their place.
