Retail Automation: Stranded Workers? *New Research*

Jay OwenReforming Global Finance, SRI/ESG News, Beyond GDP

Retail Automation: Stranded Workers?
Opportunities and risks for labor and automation

 

Cornerstone Capital Group’s new report, Retail Automation: Stranded Workers? Opportunities and Risks for Labor and Automation, finds that 6 to 7.5 million retail jobs likely will be automated out of existence in the coming years, leaving a large portion of the retail workforce at risk of becoming “stranded workers.” Retail cashiers are at highest risk for automation technologies, and women hold 73 percent of these positions.

Some 16 million Americans are employed in retail, which represents 10% of the nation’s working population and generates 6% of US gross domestic product (GDP). A lack of disclosure on key labor metrics by retailers puts investors in the dark on how these companies are responding and what the fate of their workers could be.

Our report, commissioned by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) and authored by Sebastian Vanderzeil and Michael Shavel, identifies the structural factors catalyzing change in the retail industry. The report details the technologies retailers are deploying, looks at the drivers of automation, and provides a framework to analyze the automation strategies of 30 large retail companies.

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