Osman Şenkul
The regions of Wales, Scotland and Sussex in England are known as areas where industrialisation spread rapidly in the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. One of the regions where this industrialisation spread rapidly was Nottinghamshire, which includes Sherwood Forest, the setting for the Robin Hood legend, who robbed rich clergymen to help the poor. Due to rapid industrialisation, this region also became the birthplace of another legend, hundreds of years after Robin Hood. According to legend, an apprentice named Ned Ludham (or Ned Ludd) worked in one of the wool and cotton workshops of the time. The owner of the workshop, which produced socks, eventually purchased and installed one of the newly developed machines that had put hundreds of people out of work across the country, and of course, he dismissed Ned. In response, in 1779, Ned Ludd destroyed the sock-making loom. Similar incidents spread throughout England, and Luddism emerged. In England, severe penalties—including the death penalty—for the destruction of machines and factories failed to prevent the spread of Luddism.
In England, thousands of workshop workers who had lost their jobs due to the rise of mechanisation rebelled; the rebels were particularly involved in machine-breaking actions that shook the wool and cotton industries. This major movement was known as the ‘Luddite rebellions’. The Luddites were inspired by the rebellion of ‘Ned Ludd,’ a legendary figure believed to have lived in Sherwood Forest and led the movement, who became famous for smashing the machines that had taken his job. Groups following this legendary figure, like this ‘rebel,’ were smashing machines that were putting them out of work or causing their wages to be cut almost in half. Ned Ludd, known as the person who started these machine-breaking rebellions, which grew steadily over the next century and went down in English history, continued to inspire as the creator of the legend.
However, the Luddite movement, said to have taken its first steps in 1779, began more effectively in Nottinghamshire in 1811 and quickly spread throughout the country, particularly to the West Riding of Yorkshire and Lancashire in 1812, as well as to Leicestershire and Derbyshire. In the uprisings that first arose in Yorkshire, the Luddites wanted to get rid of the new machines that were causing workers to lose their jobs. Hand weavers did not want the looms to be used. The protests in Nottinghamshire, however, were against wage cuts. Workers entered factories and destroyed the new looms and all other new machines they believed were taking their jobs. Clashes also occurred between the Luddites and government troops.
Men were assigned to guard factories to catch machine breakers, and rewards were given to those who provided information. The government sent thousands of soldiers to the areas where the problems were occurring. In 1812, machine breaking became a crime punishable by death, and the following year, 17 people were executed. The Luddites were highly effective, and although some of their largest actions resulted in the capture of around 100 people, over time, there were relatively fewer arrests and executions.
The unrest continued for another five years. This crisis was exacerbated by food shortages caused by rising wheat prices and the collapse of hosiery and knitwear prices in 1815 and 1816. Various attempts were made to find a compromise; however, the problems persisted until the mid-nineteenth century, by which time the wool industry had largely moved away from manual labour. The Luddites were not the first group of workers to encounter problems in the first half of the 19th century. Some of the country’s economic difficulties were also linked to the Napoleonic Wars (1802-1812), which disrupted trade between countries. The Luddites were defined as people who vehemently opposed technological change, and the riots were linked to the introduction of new machines in the wool industry.
In short, with the invention of the flying shuttle by the Englishman John Kay in 1733, an important step towards mechanisation had been taken. Mechanisation, which continued with similar inventions in the following years, made a leap forward in the process known as the Industrial Revolution. Rapid mechanisation occurred, particularly in weaving. Richard Arkwright invented the spinning frame in 1767. Free competition, which developed alongside the industrialisation process, became a tool for mass dispossession and proletarianisation.
Workshops closed, and artisans entered the service of industry. At the heart of the Industrial Revolution was the machine. The worker skilled in using a single tool was replaced by the ‘machine,’ which took the place of multiple tools and became an extension of the machine. The employment of women and children was a sign of this development (and of the factory system). Thus, the most important step was taken towards the deskilling and alienation of labour.
Luddite movements re-emerged in 1816 with actions such as the destruction of weaving machines and the burning of haystacks. In the 1840s, workers in Sussex burned fields, barns, and granaries due to low wages. They attributed these fires to a mythical creature they called ‘Swing.’ Similarly, in 1843, the ‘Rebecca Riots’ broke out in Wales. Villagers dressed in women’s clothing, with their faces painted black and armed, attacked and destroyed toll bridges. Although the movement was primarily specific to England, it eventually spread to continental Europe. Artisans, particularly weavers and garment workers, and farmers whose land had been nationalised, had been dispossessed. The most notable machine was the loom invented by Jacquard of Lyon. This loom was the first machine capable of operating independently. One worker could do the work of several workers. Machines were frequently destroyed during the Lyon uprisings of 1831 and 1834. Similar actions were also seen in Germany and Eastern Europe.
In short, behind this widespread uprising movement lay the fact that thousands of workshop workers had lost their jobs to machines, while those who found work operating the machines saw their wages reduced to the bare minimum.
Two centuries and two world wars have passed, and the dizzying pace of technological advancement has opened the doors to similar developments across the globe, not only in Britain or Europe, but also due to the influence of the globalising economy.
Machines, which began to replace many workers in the textile and similar industries two centuries ago, are now being replaced by tools developed with artificial intelligence-focused technology. This new type of automation in production processes has recently led to layoffs that have quickly exceeded hundreds of thousands.
According to data compiled by Reuters, more than 25,000 layoffs have been announced in the US alone so far this month. This figure does not include UPS’s wave of 48,000 layoffs. In Europe, the total number exceeds 20,000, with 16,000 of these belonging to Nestlé, which announced layoffs just last week.
Official employment data cannot be published due to the US government’s second-longest shutdown in history. Therefore, investors are closely monitoring companies’ layoff announcements. However, many economists point out that such cuts made towards the end of the year are usually planned and that most are spread out over the long term.
Over the summer, news spread far and wide that Amazon, which had deployed its one millionth robot, was planning to replace over half a million employees with robots. According to estimates, this move could reduce the price of the e-commerce giant’s products by approximately 30 cents by 2027. This move could significantly reduce the workforce of the company, which has the second-largest workforce in the US private sector, but it could also greatly improve Amazon’s free cash flow.
Meanwhile, Amazon has announced that it will lay off 14,000 people from its corporate staff. This decision coincided with moves by Target, Procter & Gamble and other giants to reduce thousands of office workers. A Reuters report stated that the number of employees to be laid off at Amazon in the near future could reach 30,000.
The New York Times also recently reported on interviews with Amazon’s management and leaked internal documents. These documents show that the company has actively begun implementing a plan to use robots to perform the jobs of up to 600,000 workers, automate warehouse operations, and eliminate the need for humans to perform these tasks.
In addition to all this, the comments made on this subject by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in his recent speeches were also quite striking. In an article titled ‘Jerome Powell deeply concerned about the impact of artificial intelligence on the job market’ by Futurism, a New York-based group that describes itself as ‘covering the technological and scientific developments that move markets, shake the world and change the world,’ it states:
If you have a premonition that the economy has been deteriorating recently, you are not alone: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell shares your view. Following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, Powell told reporters that “job creation and, consequently, the rate at which unemployed people find work is very low”.
“According to Fortune magazine, Powell added that a significant number of companies are contributing to this slowdown by laying off workers or halting hiring. The reason? Artificial intelligence. The Fed Chairman said of large company executives, ‘They often talk about artificial intelligence and what it can do. We are watching this very carefully.’
According to CNN, Powell’s sarcastic comments came after the Fed announced it would cut interest rates to around 3.75-4.0 per cent, the lowest level in three years. The Fed Board of Governors has been facing an impossible situation in recent months, grappling with rising unemployment and severe inflation. In a healthy market economy, it is generally accepted that employment and inflation are inversely proportional — when one rises, the other falls.
“However, in 2025, both are rising simultaneously, placing a greater burden on working-class households and putting the Fed in an impossible position. As the number of unemployed rises, companies can use the pressure of starving unemployed people to keep the wages of real workers low.
“The effect of this terrible employment surge, fuelled by the excitement of the artificial intelligence narrative, is an economy where the rich spend excessively while the poor become much poorer. In Powell’s words, “low-income consumers are struggling, buying less and turning to lower-cost products”, while high-income households and companies are enjoying the strongest stock market in history.
“While tech giants continue to pour money into developing artificial intelligence, headlines focus on how this emerging technology could eventually replace workers in various sectors. Whether this happens or not, workers face a more immediate threat: the danger of losing their jobs due to robotic automation.”
According to the Reuters report mentioned in the Futurism article, the first steps towards laying off 30,000 workers at Amazon have already been taken and are ongoing. The report stated, ‘The layoffs, which began this week, could affect various departments, including human resources, operations, devices and services, known as People Experience and Technology (PXT), as well as Amazon Web Services.’
Accordingly, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement earlier this year that he had set up an anonymous complaint line to identify inefficiencies, which resulted in approximately 1,500 responses and more than 450 process changes. Jassy added in June that increased use of artificial intelligence tools, particularly through the automation of repetitive and routine tasks, could lead to further job cuts.
eMarketer analyst Sky Canaves said, ‘This latest move shows that Amazon has achieved AI-driven efficiency gains within its corporate teams at a level that will support a significant reduction in its workforce. Amazon is under short-term pressure to recoup its long-term investments in building its AI infrastructure.’
As we have seen from recent developments, Amazon’s decision to cut thousands of corporate jobs has fuelled a long-standing concern: AI is beginning to replace workers. Thus, this tech giant has joined the growing list of companies in the US citing AI technology as the reason for job cuts.
Online education company Chegg announced on Monday that it would reduce its workforce by 45 per cent, citing the ‘new realities’ of artificial intelligence. When Salesforce eliminated 4,000 customer service positions last month, the company’s CEO said that AI agents were doing the job. UPS announced on Tuesday that it had laid off 48,000 people since last year. The shipping company’s CEO had previously linked the layoffs in part to machine learning.
Starting with automation, the massive job losses caused by digital and other technological advances are now accelerating rapidly with artificial intelligence. We are closely monitoring the serious acceleration of technology-based mass layoffs in recent months through statements, news reports and commentary, and we can see the extent to which developments have escalated. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to predict that the scale of layoffs in the coming period will be many times greater than those carried out to date. Although unemployment in Turkey, fuelled by shrinking production and a lack of new investment, is climbing to some of the highest rates worldwide, it is not difficult to foresee that technology and artificial intelligence-based layoffs in developed countries will also cause serious problems on a similar scale in the coming period.
Having reached this point, when we look back two centuries, the Luddite movements inevitably come to mind. It is clear that we need to consider and evaluate whether the ‘machine-breaking’ movements that arose in response to the severe unemployment and wage losses caused by technological advances at that time will be reflected in the present day, and if so, how and to what extent, and who will spearhead this, when and where.
Could the Luddism of two centuries ago be the Internationalism of these years? We shall see…!!!