The alternative to automation is to just eliminate jobs and shut down shop. For instance, if it's unprofitable to pay someone to bag customer's items, you're no

The alternative to automation is to just eliminate jobs and shut down shop. For instance, if it's unprofitable to pay someone to bag customer's items, you're not going to invest into building some advanced bagging machine. You're going to have the customer do it themselves. Now the guy that used to be able to earn at least some income bagging items is out of a job.