The most dramatic example is the rapidly increasing use of ATMs , which has resulted in a sparsely staffed modern bank branch that looks very different from the bank of 20 years ago. Other new technologies, such as electronic scanners and improved bookkeeping programs, are replacing workers who once performed these duties by hand. The effects of the second change are not limited to unskilled labor. Recent industrywide consolidation has meant shutting down departments and branches. When a merger transforms two separate departments into one, duplicate tasks are often eliminated.
Some mergers also entail a purge of middle-management positions.
The net effect of these two changes has been to raise the skill level of the banking industry's labor force .