About 25 years ago I started working for a company which manufactures consumer goods. At that time the factory floor contained many conveyor belts and women employees would stand by the belts and perform repetitive tasks such as packing products into shipping cases. I don't doubt that this was boring work but those women probably earned a handy amount of money to support their families with.

I left the company 5 or 6 years ago and in that time it has re-located to new premises nearby. Recently I was given a tour of the new factory. There are now very few employees on the factory floor and shipping cases are packed by robots. I don't know, exactly, how these changes have affected the local economy and community (but local women have certainly lost an opportunity to supplement their familys' incomes) - but I bet the company doesn't know either, doesn't care and is only interested in the 'bottom line'.