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Monday, May 22, 2017

Jobs and Technologies

Seems an odd premise, is it the underlying responsibility of companies to create jobs?   Or allow the market to do that?  Starting in the 60s, many jobs have been replaced by technologies.    In the HBR:

As Machines Take Jobs, Companies Need to Get Creative About Making New Ones
by Darlene Damm

Jobs in retail, transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture are highly vulnerable to technological change. Retailers such as Macy’s and The Limited are closing hundreds of stores and cutting tens of thousands of jobs as people buy more and more products online, and others are testing robotic assistants or planning for autonomous stores. Over 33 companies are now working on autonomous vehicles, which will soon replace transport jobs. Robots have probably taken about 85% of the 5 million manufacturing jobs that have disappeared from the United States since 2000. Automated farming is also quickly advancing.

While our first instinct might be to help employees find new jobs, what we really need to do is help companies shift into new markets focused on human services and adopt new business models that will allow employees, customers, and communities to benefit from technological change. ... " 

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