Retailers are racing to adopt new technologies, like the self-scanner Walmart has rolled out in 22 Canadian stores, to stay competitive in a challenging industry. But experts say the trend toward automation threatens more jobs in a sector that is already slashing head counts.
Walmart expanded technology that allows shoppers to choose to carry a scanner that tallies up their purchases to 20 stores in B.C., Alberta and Ontario on Monday. Shoppers at those stores only need to stop by a self-checkout kiosk or visit a cashier to pay their bill.
The company expects to continue adding the scanners to more of its Canadian stores. Eventually, it may abandon the handheld scanners in favour of a smartphone app shoppers south of the border use.
While companies promise the trend toward automation wonB次元官网网址檛 cost workers their jobs, experts say the long-term outlook for salespeople and cashiers is bleak.
B次元官网网址淚 think any large company these days thatB次元官网网址檚 making significant investments in technology is doing that with an eye towards reducing costs and increasing service efficiency,B次元官网网址� said Sunil Johal, policy director at The Mowat Centre at the University of Toronto.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e not going to do that B次元官网网址� if they donB次元官网网址檛 also make reductions in their workforce,B次元官网网址� said Johal, who co-authored a 2016 report on CanadaB次元官网网址檚 social policy in the new age of work.
Walmart maintains the companyB次元官网网址檚 objective is not to covertly kill jobs. The big-box retailer wants to help customers budget and offer a convenient checkout option, spokesman Alex Roberton wrote in an email.
B次元官网网址淭o be clear this is not an initiative designed to reduce labour,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e needed cashiers yesterday, we need them today and we will need them tomorrow.B次元官网网址�
In the short-term, that may be true, Johal said, as shoppers need time to learn and adjust to new technology.
When McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 Canada announced it would add self-service kiosks to restaurants in 2015, the fast-food chain said it would also create 15,000 new jobs as it hired employees to greet customers and help diners navigate the new system.
But in the medium- to long-term that outlook will change, Johal said, as thereB次元官网网址檚 no question companies are adopting technology to benefit their bottom line.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 be shocked if a year from now or two years from now these types of moves to automation donB次元官网网址檛 lead to cuts,B次元官网网址� he said, explaining that could mean a reduction in the number of employees or the number of hours they work.
Retail salespeople and cashiers are among the top five jobs most at risk from automation, according to a June 2016 report by The Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
About 42 per cent of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 labour force is at risk of being affected by automation over the next 10 to 20 years, the report found, including 656,000 retail salesperson and 309,000 cashier jobs.
Retail is one of North AmericaB次元官网网址檚 most competitive industries, said Sean Mullin, the instituteB次元官网网址檚 executive director, and global tech titan Amazon is leading a push for companies to increase the technology components of their business.
Amazon, which recently acquired grocery chain Whole Foods, opened a checkout-free grocery store in Seattle last year. Customers never see a cashier or visit a self-checkout kiosk. Their Amazon account is charged when they leave.
B次元官网网址淪o everyone, I think, is very scared B次元官网网址� that if they donB次元官网网址檛 get into this game and start to use automation and technology as an increasing part of their business, they will not be competitive in the future and effectively will be forced out of business,B次元官网网址� Mullin said.
Canadian companies operating in Alberta and Ontario face additional pressure from impending minimum wage hikes, said Johal.
On Jan. 1, OntarioB次元官网网址檚 minimum wage is slated to jump from $11.60 an hour to $14 if a proposed bill passes. It would increase another dollar the following year. Meanwhile, in Alberta, the minimum wage for most employees will rise from $13.60 to $15 per hour next Oct. 1.
B次元官网网址淭he natural next step for many of these stores is to look at technological solutions which might make it possible for them to reduce their wage bill,B次元官网网址� Johal said.
With automation, companies in the cost-competitive industry can gain an advantage by making themselves cheaper and passing those savings on to customers, Mullin said.
While cashiers and salespeople roles may be on the chopping block, he said, technology historically creates more jobs than it eliminates. Granted, he added, the new work tends to require highly skilled workers, who are more difficult to replace with robots.
Aleksandra Sagan, The Canadian Press
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