Is the consumer-goods industry ready for the new world of work?

The skills that made consumer-goods companies successful in the past won’t be good enough for the future. Companies need to start preparing for skill shifts now. The next decade or two will likely bring about the biggest disruption to work and employment since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. In that era, machines replaced more than half of workers in some sectors during a span of only about 30 years. This time around, the disruption could lead to even more dramatic consequences: according to research from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), automation and artificial intelligence (AI) could displace between 400 million and 800 million people worldwide by 2030. At the same time, new jobs will be created, but these jobs will require skills that will be in short supply. Read more…