Nowadays, the idea of self-driving cars gains more and more popularity. However, there is another side to this issue. One effect of using self-driving cars is drastic reduction of work places that is likely to become more pronounced as fewer people will be engaged in the field. Indeed, nowadays many people are employed in the car industry, starting from taxi and truck drivers to repairmen working in repair shops. While it is obvious that self-driving cars will make the jobs of taxi drivers and long-distance truck drivers redundant, there are many industries where redundancies will be less apparent but none the less numerous. Since the resource of the electric motor and transmission is higher than that of the internal combustion engine, self-driving cars need less repairs. That means the number of jobs in the automotive industry — including those who make spare parts — will significantly decrease over time. Self-driving vehicles will deal another blow to employment in the oil sector. Half of the oil produced in the world goes to motor transport and with the extension of self-driving cars oil industry will suffer major setbacks. Finally, nowadays, having a personal driver is seen as a confirmation of one’s status. With the spread of self-driving vehicles this, too, will become the idea of the past. With the risk of so many people becoming redundant, car companies should really consider if they should speed up the development of self-driving vehicles. The idea of the danger self-driving cars present to work places is thoroughly discussed in the article “Autonomous vehicles and employment: An urban futures revolution or catastrophe?” (Nikitas et al., 2021). The authors point to the danger of labour market disruption and caution against speeding up the process of transition from usual cars to self-driving ones.
Reference
Nikitas, A., Vitel, A. E., & Cotet, C. (2021). Autonomous vehicles and employment: An urban futures revolution or catastrophe?. Cities, 114, 103203.