Moral Dilemma

I found out today that a project I’m leading on at work is going to put 7,000 people out of a job (in a US company, not that it matters) once it’s completed in a couple of weeks.

This is not the first time I’ve worked on projects that have automated people out of jobs, it’s never a nice feeling, but it feels different this time, with everything going on.

I also found out that it’s likely that the company itself will have to close down in a couple of months if not for these cost reduction measures. It still feels wrong though.

I’m firmly of the opinion that as a society we should be automating ever job that we can, but that relies on some form of UBI to be sustainable, which just isn’t there.

 

Competitive advantage. If your company doesn't make the savings another company will compete you out of business? Not much choice, really?

 

Not my company, my company are doing the work for another company.

 

Your client company then.

 

You’re right. As I alluded to in the OP the company are haemorrhaging money right now and would have to close in a matter of months if they don’t make these changes

 

On what basis do you firmly believe that though?

 

I remember an article on tomorrow’s world in 60’s that speculated that in the future, robots would be doing all the work and this would lead to a boom in the leisure industry because everyone would have loads of time on their hands. Well done on the first prediction anyway!

 

Because surely a world where nobody is forced to go to work to achieve a basic standard of living is desirable to all?

 

UBI needs to happen ASAP

 

But surely that is only desirable if those displaced feel as though they are making a contribution. In order to do that you have to rejig people's thought processes about what we expect from each other.

 

In the olden days, a shop had a power cut and could carry on trading. Now everything is automated and it resulted in a days loss of trading at Castleford J32 just before Christmas as half the shops had to be shut.

 

Whenever society changes and new technology comes in and displaces existing work patterns this kind of thing happens. It's the nature of capitalist society. Trouble is it causes casualties. In the OPs case there is no alternative than to do the work however by the sounds of it. It does stink though

 

Absolutely amazes me when that's the case at chains because I work for a relatively small company who doesn't exactly do everything properly but if we had a power cut we could switch to generator backup as quickly as we could get one to site which would be about half an hour.
If the building caught fire and our servers exploded we could have backup servers turned on within minutes off-site, the entire telephone system rerouted to either a temporary office or even everyone's homes if needed and the computer system could be opened up to be logged into from anywhere.
And as I said we don't exactly do everything right so if we can manage it it amazes me that others can't.

 

Do you mean the developed world? Wouldn't be remotely feasible over the majority of the globe. Interesting concept though but alas I doubt people could be nursed without nurses so I'm ****'d.

 

It's a shame you're not running Barnsley Football Club. We'd have had a proven goalscorer on the books before Moore had got halfway to Wigan.

 

Resign and do something else , .....end of dilemma

 

How many people does this company employ? If, for example, it employs 30,000 people and is in such a bad state financially, then your actions will save the jobs of 23,000 people rather cause the loss 7,000. That’s probably a better way of looking at it.

 

I think if it's your job you should rest at ease or change what you do.

 

How will you pay for things though? No job, no money.

 

That’s easy. Vast swathes of the population live on meagre benefits, hand outs and somehow scrape some kind of survival. The billionaires who own the robots are busy becoming multi billionaires. Oh, you also have the privilege of voting for it the first place