The aim of this contract is to carry out case studies investigating the socio-economic impact of automation in the automotive and garment/apparel sectors in three European countries (Germany, Romania and Spain), focusing on labour process, job quality and gender differences within the workplace.
In order to grasp the effects of automation with particular attention to labour process, the project aims specifically at investigating and understand:
1) How automation technologies change the business model, production and economic process in the automotive and garment/apparel industries;
2) The implications of these changes for work organization, occupational health and safety, and job quality;
3) The implications of these changes in terms of tasks, occupations and skill requirements;
4) The drivers and barriers for the adoption of automation technologies within and between business models and countries (socio-economic and institutional structures);
5) The gender dimension of automation.