I often smile when I read articles like this, which seems to imply that paying a living wage has a direct correlation with a company's decision to cut jobs. What affect jobs are the decisions we make as customers. As long as we want the cheapest goods and only want to invest in the companies that cut jobs as an instrument to achieve profitability instead of real innovation; many companies will continue to find ways to reduce the highest perceive cost (human resources) with or without mandated increase in wages. We as a community need to decide what do we consider good companies and how to support them appropriately to ensure maintaining or increasing jobs if that's what we want.

Integrating automation into the workplace puts everyone at risk but it’s inevitable. Employment cost are too high not to mention the skills gap in the workforce companies keep complaining about.

Automation is definitely going to impact the need for human resources but an even more interesting question is where are the new job going to be and what will be the skills needed to get those jobs. New jobs seem to be trending towards infrastructure development on roads, bridges, and tunnels especially around the major cities as the population in those areas continues to grow. Careers in construction and heavy equipment operation is the way to go for future jobseekers who are not interested in a traditional college to career path. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/crumbling-infrastructure-inhibiting-american-productivity/

My team members where I work are not happy. The restaurant already started construction for the new layout of machines customers can use to pre-order their meals and sit to have meals delivered by cashiers and service staff. So cashiers will become servers without the tips. They have the choice to do that or work the grill. It's going to take a few months before everything is set up any most of people I work with are already talking about quitting. oh well

The management at my job is in fear the unions that have been approaching employees off the store properties soliciting employees to sign in support or organizing. Part of the drive for employees is the minimum wage and lack of full benefits. I can see my job jumping all over this if it can limit the amount of service workers.

I work as a cashier and customer service representative for a big retail chain right now and I've seen more hiring this season for our warehouse than for the front of the store customer checkout. Customers are being forced to use the self service checkout kiosks because the few cashier service checkout lines are usually backed up. Peak hours included. Yeah, I can see companies going in this direction with the technology. I need to get back to school and get a degree if I'm going to stay employed.

Sadly I think that many people will be affected. Let me say that retail is not always the best choice anyway. For many reasons. Hopefully there will be creative solutions for Americans in order to deal with this. It would be great if we could manufacture this kind of equipment as well as other automated machinery here. Naturally we'd need to offer training too. I think it would be good for a job seeker to ask themselves "Can this job ever be automated?" It's hard to think of the long haul implications when a person is desperate to find a job, but I'm telling you from experience that I wish I had done that more. Not just regarding automation,, but the other questions I wish I had asked myself. Like "Will I be able to do this job when I'm a lot older?" Or- "What steps can I take now to ensure that my life doesn't just depend on my employer?" Shouldawouldacoulda I guess. But thanks for your post. It's good to give people a heads up.