Job Loss due to Automation Technologies: Perceptions of Fairness in the Information Technology Sector of India

Abstract

The present study, addresses a research question on the perception of fairness of job losses due to automation technologies amongst general stakeholders. Jennifer Kim (2018) has shown that job displacement due to automation is perceived to be fairer in the United States when compared to outsourcing. The study by Jennifer Kim (2018) is replicated in this study on a sample drawn from the population of the Indian labour force, limiting it to the millennials and the IT industry. The results indicated that all job displacement is perceived to be unfair, despite the motive behind it. This is contrary to the results obtained from the sample from the United States. Also, there was no statistically significant difference between the perception of fairness towards the job displacement due to automation and outsourcing. Though there was no direct effect of the motive behind the job displacement/lay-off on the perception of fairness, it was found that there were significant indirect effects from the identified 4 mediators.

Keywords: Automation, Outsourcing, Fairness of Lay-offs, Lay-offs, Fairness

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