I think the truism really is this: In a micro sense: each company will try to reduce labor costs as much as possible, since costs are the enemy of profit. But

I think the truism really is this: In a micro sense: each company will try to reduce labor costs as much as possible, since costs are the enemy of profit. But when we look at the macro situation then: employees are much of the demand curve. Less income means less demand. This is the reason for much of the talk about UBI and job automation.