AIBU to think redundancy crisis is not getting enough media coverage?

you would take any job?

what job is it, as a highly skilled professional, you think you can walk into?

Yes and I others have already made that point in previous pages.

the reason is under 20 isn’t reported is because it doesn’t indicate “crisis”

Because in the ‘old days’ they likely would have had a good enough company pension that they could retire early, especially if they had a good payout.

Yep, pretty sure that’s more to do with AI/ cheap offshore labour/ companies over recruited in that sector for years.

and I honestly never thought that I would live through a time where The Revolution might happen
@thestudio

What form will this revolution take?

It’s not quite that simple. They can apply to sponsor a visa, but the worker still has to meet the minimum salary level etc. unless it’s money laundering ( TBF, lots probably are) they aren’t paying enough for that.

The government is also investigating it and looking to crack down.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj639rx147eo

Because they’re not technically unemployed

They did a huge restructure at my work, many people lost their jobs. The ones of us that remain are expected to just get on with it. My LinkedIn is full of stories of redundancy and a tough job market.

But you clearly haven’t read it properly……

He should sign on for New JSA which would at least pay his NI whilst he looks for work.

You must have different algorthims to me, I'm always getting stories about 50 year olds being out of work.

A lot of staff moved out of London in my old office because WFH allowed them to finally be able to afford a home, or to move somewhere bigger for their family. People who had started in the late 90s or early 00s didn't realise how lifechanging that was for those who were in the same roles they were when they bought their first homes but didn't see themselves even able to rent a place to themselves in 2020, never mind buy.

Also, commuting in from Kent etc is bloody expensive. I had two colleagues who came in from Brighton and it cost thousands.

Not what you said in your post - but hey.

The reason under 20 isn't reported is nothing to do with 'crisis'. It's simply to do with redundancies below this threshold are handled through individual consultations and not collective consultation because the law treats smaller scale redundancies as manageable without state intervention.

Firstly, I want to express huge sympathy for anyone facing or experiencing redundancy. It happened to me last year after 33 years with the same organisation. It was a straight fire/ rehire scenario. (They wanted to halve my pay but need to cut my contract first. Because of an ambiguity in my contract, (deliberate on their part) there was just one month’s notice and no compensation. It turned out to be illegal.
I went to ACAS, fought them and won. AI tools helped me keep my legal costs low.
But I’d known for years that I was in a highly competitive, contracting industry which favoured youthful applicants. I could see salaries regressing. Jobs that paid £65k ten years ago pay £45k now. Lots of my contemporaries would have done my job for free or near to free which is why the organisation was able to cut paid roles and salaries.
So eight years ago, I decided I needed a plan B. I started a small business in the evenings. It was something I was interested in and I chose a business model that required little investment. It was quite technically challenging and I was not particularly technical but I like learning and after seeing if I could find someone within the government agencies for start ups who could teach me and finding no one, I taught myself.
It was time consuming but it was interesting. I did it when my kids were in bed or otherwise engaged and DH was reading/ watching TV.
It was hard work but I enjoyed the learning process and I could see progress. The barriers to entry were low. I found a group of likeminded businesswomen to support me and help me with encouragement and practical tips. (There are lots out there for start ups).
Before I was effectively made redundant, the business was already successful. It now employs four people full time (we work a 32 hour week) and three part time, plus two regular freelancers, and they are all young and bright and extremely able. The business is debt-free, cash rich, highly profitable and I own it 100%.
Im not saying this to boast. I’m saying it to show what is possible. AI has massively reduced the barriers to entry for anyone wanting to establish a small business. An AI tool will build you a basic website, quickly and cheaply. The cost of start up has never been so low.
AI is just a tool. It is entirely neutral from a moral perspective. Like anything, it can be used for good or ill. It’s up to us how we regulate it and how we use it and it desperately needs regulating. In my business, it is not used for anything creative, it’s not used to replace people. It’s used to speed up processes, data annalysis, and to free up people to do more interesting work.
There is a huge amount of help and information out there for people wanting to set up a small business on the side while their industry adapts to the new world. While I understand the fears and I know from experience the concerns are real, ultimately, I believe AI will create new jobs and more jobs and the economy will grow because of it. (It’s already happening). Any new disruptive technology - from the Industrial Revolution onwards - has had its detractors and a period of disruption while society adapts. Overall, the benefits have generally outweighed the disadvantages.
The inconvenient truth is that nobody owes anyone a job. We all have a responsibility to do what we can to create the kind of society we want. If we live in Britain, we’re lucky to live in a country which has labour laws and financial support for those who, for whatever reason, find themselves without income. In other countries, particularly in less developed countries with less state support, people often set up as sole traders or start businesses.
If you know you are in an industry facing upheaval, the best thing you can do is plan ahead. Ironically, AI can make this process easier. Finally, a friend was visiting Singapore recently. He walked past a classroom on a Saturday morning with a bunch of kids aged about 10 sitting at laptops, listing to a teacher. My friend asked the local acquaintance he was with what was happening and was told it was “AI school”. They were learning to use the new technology. Competition nowadays is global. If we don’t develop a more positive attitude to new technology and open ourselves and our children up to the advantages it can bring, we will see our economy overtaken by countries with a more positive attitude to progress.

Are there any particular sectors which are susceptible to redundancy over and above others?

As I said, look at the posts I made before. I didn’t say it multiple times because you know, I already had.

There you go- posted on page 2 2 days ago, well before the post you’ve quoted

There you go- posted on page 2 2 days ago, well before the post you’ve quoted

I don't know. As I said, mine is a philosophical rather than political/pragmatic position.

Historically, capitalism has been able to prevent anything approaching a revolution by dividing/conquering and offering the population the hope of bettering themselves, at an individual level.

It's done this through the ameliorative/palliative offer of liberalism, which has been the beard for and 'softening' defender of brute capitalism .

I don't think it's impossible that, once liberalism is seen to be the sham that it is - because we are now dealing with something that fundamentally can't be ameliorated - it might crumble. And that when it becomes clear that the sops of liberalism are hopeless, individuals might start to believe that their only hope is collective.

He’s fully paid up, so it makes no difference, I believe. He’s in his 50s.

@Solitudinemfaciuntpacemappellant

In my business, it is not used for anything creative, it’s not used to replace people. It’s used to speed up processes, data annalysis, and to free up people to do more interesting work.

I think the people who would previously have been required to do the processes/data analysis would disagree.

It's fine, I understand, but your whole argument is basically 'I didn't have to spend as much on wages to start my business as I would previously have done'. You are kidding yourself and us if you can't see the impact of this across the global economy.

Do you really believe that enough small scale entrepreneurs will be enabled by AI to replace the global job market as it existed 15 years ago? That there won't be huge numbers of people with insufficient income to live, let alone buy your services?

I've had to play around with my linkedin feed so I don't get all the doom and gloom. Not when I'm trying to find a job.

@thestudio thank you for answering my question.

And that when it becomes clear that the sops of liberalism are hopeless, individuals might start to believe that their only hope is collective.

That may well be true. However I think people in UK have got too used to choice - where to go on holiday, a vast choice of all consumables and merchandise and in countries which practise or practised collectivism - Soviet Union, Cuba etc - there’s very little of that.
On the other hand, if there were a revolution and the revolutionary government instigated strict rules with draconian punishments for breaking them, then everyone would have to go along with it.

I would describe myself as ultra left. Marx stated that the capitalists would dig their own graves :)

Have you read the Grundrisse? The 'fragment on machines' written in the 1870s or thereabouts predicts that dead labour, technology and automation will render labour power superfluous. Thus capitals internal logic of profit maximisation creates the ultimate fall in the rate of profit. The end point of the crisis is that commodities no longer have both use and exchange value. If you accept the LTV, then capitalism must transition to another mode of production (economic system).

If you accept the LTV,

Does LTV stand for loan-to-value?