Forget about broad-based pay hikes, executives say

[DonViejo]

Steve LeVine 12 hours ago

Very few Americans have enjoyed steadily rising pay beyond inflation over the last couple of decades, a shift from prior years in which the working and middle classes enjoyed broad-based wage gains as the economy expanded.

Why it matters: Now, executives of big U.S. companies suggest that the days of most people getting a pay raise are over, and that they also plan to reduce their work forces further.

Quick take: This was rare, candid and bracing talk from executives atop corporate America, made at a conference Thursday at the Dallas Fed. The message is that Americans should stop waiting for across-the-board pay hikes coinciding with higher corporate profit; to cash in, workers will need to shift to higher-skilled jobs that command more income.

Troy Taylor, CEO of the Coke franchise for Florida, said he is currently adding employees with the idea of later reducing the staff over time "as we invest in automation." Those being hired: technically-skilled people. "It's highly technical just being a driver," he said.

more
https://www.axios.com/broad-based-pay-rises-retraining-automation-executives-3e68d31c-51bc-4bde-a362-7ce12b039e7c.html?utm_source=sidebar

[Sherman A1]

1. This is unfortunate but likely also the case

As automation and consolidation charge the dynamic of the workplace in the coming years. We are going to see the sands shifting in ways we never could have imagined in how we think of careers, work, income and fulfillment.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. And as soon as workers "shift to higher-skilled jobs that command more income",

the corporations will outsource the jobs! A great example is the IT industry.

[hatrack]

3. Or they'll wheel in AI, and erase the jobs

.

[nolabels]

4. And when positions become open not refill them

It's more stupidity than anything else. A well-seasoned employee often can outperform new hires three, four or more times when it comes to accomplishing goals. The biggest problem with corporate America today is the executives and managers don't know how to run shit when it comes to nuts and bolts of the operations. They also miss out on the macro for that reason and their lack of people skills. Throw the trust factor in of many people not seeing a way forward in trumps America and we have a wonderful cake we have baked.

As for AI, as a mechanic, I welcome it. A machine might eliminate seven to ten jobs but it will make two or three new very skilled positions

[Hugin]

5. I've got news for Mr. Taylor and other CEOs...

Robots don't drink Coke.

They don't buy houses, cars, eat food, have children, go to school, or take vacations.

They only do one thing... That one thing they're designed to do. If nobody can afford the one thing they do, they become useless. Almost as useless as a CEO.