Ultimately, we the people will have a chance to stop things happening - but will we, when all we want is cheaper prices?
Let's take an example of something that could happen. You want to go out to watch a movie. At the moment, you can book your ticket online and pick up from a machine. Then you show your tickets to someone to go in, and can see staff to buy food/drink. There's probably someone to stand near the screen to deal with things too.
But, why not get rid of the staff - besides a small element to comply with the law for an evacuation. Buy ticket on mobile, swipe phone against entry gate. Use contactless card to buy food/drink from a vending machine - or pick up the items that have embedded RFID tags and as you walk towards the screen, you're charged electronically for what you've bought.
Now you go in to the screen and if you have a problem, you can use a help point or communicate via the same app you bought your ticket from. All of the cinemas in the chain are managed remotely from an operations centre that's not UK based - where they can remotely watch what is going on in every screen (to look for fights, people filming etc).
Now use the same new technologies, or emerging technologies, to work out all the other low-skilled, part-time jobs that can be wiped out easily in the service industry, retail etc.
It's quite depressing, but as I say - we could stop it happening by refusing to accept such changes.. but we won't, at least not until it's too late.