(Concluded from Part 1, yesterday.)
“Restructuring” – I.e., Downsizing – is the Answer
“What is a computer for, if not to save labor?” (Jim Steinhart, “Database Octopus,” Canadian Datasystems, May 1991, 58.)
“Theoretically every time you make a $10,000 investment on technology you should have replaced one employee.” (James Miller, CEO of Royal Trustco in Macleans, Nov. 23, 1992, 44.)
The drumbeat of announcements of staff cutbacks by major corporations continues unabated. … The third quarter of 1991 will almost certainly break the previous record of 100,000 job reductions announced in the first quarter of this year. (Gene Koretz. 1991. “What Happens to the Jobless? Many Don’t Bounce Back,” Business Week, Sept. 16, 24.)
Throughout the Eighties and Nineties downsizing continued at frightening rates. The business and daily press were filled with stories of huge layoffs. Downsizing took 20,000 off the payrolls at Control Data from 1984 to 1986. (Koepp, 1987, 50.)
This is an era of downsizing…. Employees in virtually any company should operate as if downsizing is around the corner. (Ken Lloyd, “The Workplace,” Vancouver Sun, 14 June 1996, C10.)
Says Alfred Rappaport, an accounting professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management: “Restructuring [downsizing, laying off workers] will be a way of life for a long, long time.” (Russell, 1987, 47.)
Workers Made Obsolete
As companies large and small embrace new technologies and eliminate jobs, millions of workers are finding that their old careers are becoming obsolete. In just the past year, even as the [U.S.] economy grew by some 2.6%, more than 500,000 clerical and technical positions disappeared, probably forever. And better information systems are eliminating the need for lots of middle managers. It’s no wonder that so many Americans are distressed: they see their paycheques lagging inflation, and they worry about joining their families and friends in the ranks of the unemployed. (Michael J. Mandell and Christopher Farrell, “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs — Eventually,” Business Week, June 14, 1993, 72.)
Surprisingly, few jobs are coming from high technology, which is often seen as the soul of the new U.S. economy. While advanced technical positions are growing fast, they still make up a small part of the total work force. For example, the number of computer systems analysts surged by 171% in the past decade, to lead all other occupations. Yet such highly educated professionals increased by only 127,000 during that period, or less than one-third the job gains recorded by cooks. In all, high-tech positions account for only about 13% of U.S. employment. (John Greenwald, “A Remarkable Job Machine,” Business Week, 25 June 1984, 45.)
No Attention Paid to Displaced Workers
“Just as companies must adjust to changing times and tougher competitive conditions, so must their employees learn to do the same.” (“Barbara Rudolph, “Forced to Make a Fresh Beginning,” Time, February 16, 1987, 48.)
The reasons for the decline of our standard of living at a time when computerization would seem to be providing improved productivity, was not addressed. (David Kahn, “Twentysomethings: Who’s to Blame for Their Problems? [Letter to the editor]” Business Week, Sept. 16, 1991, 5.)
Disgruntled employees don’t dare leave their posts in 1991. There might not be another job down the road. So they stay and gripe. (“Nervous and Insecure. With More and More Companies Downsizing, EEs are worried about Their Jobs,” Electronic Engineering Times, October 14, 1991, S52.)
Further Reading
“If This is Your Job, Watch Out! (1998),”
“Automation – We Did It,” Sept. 13, 2023, at https://goldenageofgaia.com/2023/09/13/automation-we-did-it/
“Youth Face a Lack of Opportunities,”