Exclusive research by Sky News shows that Corby is the town most threatened by automation in the UK.

Northamptonshire as a whole is the most vulnerable county in the UK. Of the 10 towns most at risk of losing jobs to robotics and software, three are in that county.

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And the East Midlands more widely is at risk - seven of the ten towns most threatened are in the region.

Sky News worked with researchers from think tank Localis to map local authorities' exposure to cliff-edge automation.


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Technological change will affect every aspect of the economy over time, but some areas, whose economies depend on low-skilled jobs, will be hit hardest and fastest.

In Corby, 31% of employment is subject to cliff-edge automation, compared to a UK average of 17.6%. Daventry and Wellingborough are also at risk, with 29% of employment vulnerable for both.

In the East Midlands, of 229,200 manufacturing jobs, 108,000 are in low-skill occupations.

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Reece Manly-Foster, a 19-year-old who lives in Corby and who has worked short-term gigs in factories and warehouses over the last two years, told Sky News: "It is bad in Corby. It really is. Because there are hardly any jobs going.

"I tried to apply for a warehouse but the only job that was going was through the robots. But I had no idea, because I'm not trained, which means I can't work there.

"I know for a fact that most factory work will be overtook by robots, which means there's going to be less people working, which means there's going to be people out of work."

Others insist that automation is necessary and will eventually bring new jobs.

Image: Eliza Rawlings is managing director of Festo UK

Eliza Rawlings, the managing director of Festo UK, an automation company based in Northampton, told Sky News: "I do believe there is scaremongering going on out there.

"The pace of innovation is going to be faster than a lot of people expect. But the pace of adoption will vary.

"I hope there will be more automation because that brings additional value to businesses and growth in the economy."

Image: John Lewis has automated processes in its factory in Milton Keynes

John Lewis opened a new £150m distribution centre in Milton Keynes in 2016 which puts automation at its centre.

Caroline Harris, a department manager there, told Sky News: "Customers want reliable service, they want efficiency, they want the convenience, and that's what we're able to deliver here.

"Potentially in the future it could reduce the amount of roles that are created, but what we are doing is ensuring that actually those roles that we do create have got much more opportunities."

Image: Bounds Taxis in Northampton has about half the staff in its dispatch office as five years ago

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Chris Mills is the operations manager at Bounds Taxis in Northampton. The cab firm was set up in 1958 and is now owned by a software automation company.

When Sky News visited for a Saturday night shift, four people were in the dispatch office. Five years ago, that number would have been double.

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Mr Mills told Sky News: "The more automation we have the less need for personnel.

"It's a lot quieter. It's very much quieter You haven't got people shouting across the room. It can all be put on screen."

Not all places in the UK face the same risk. In Camden, north London, only 8% of employment is in vulnerable industries.

Image: Caroline Harris, a manager at John Lewis, says automation provides opportunities

Joe Fyans, a researcher at Localis, told Sky News: "National policy geared towards automation must factor in the varied industrial landscape of the UK, and local policymakers must be aware of their area's unique strengths and vulnerabilities when addressing the issue.

"If we get it wrong, whole places could be swept up by a tide of automation from which its people may not recover."

That view is echoed by Mr Manly-Foster.

"Factories should train young people up while we can, while we're young.

"And then when the time does come and most factories will be overrun by robots, then us teenagers will have no excuse not being in jobs. So we'll be in jobs, working with robots."