Abstract:

The present paper highlights some concerns regarding the future of production industry for developing countries in the context of globalization. In order to better asses the sustainability of this sector, the research methodology is focused on literature review of the latest scientific articles published on globalization, as well as a quantitative analysis of evolution exports and industrial production level worldwide in the period 2008-2017. As a result, several findings were presented, namely the current tendency of international companies to relocate production activities to less developed countries to lower costs regarding labour, raw materials, or logistics activities. When these countries are no longer attractive in terms of low labour, permissive environmental regulations or government tax incentives, they are abandoned by foreign companies in favour of others considered more competitive at the moment, leaving unemployment and even more pronounced economic disparities between regions. It is also noted the trend of developed countries to invest in new automated technologies that allow the replacement of human labour to reduce wage and raw materials costs and increase product quality.