Now shop staff are replaced by robots

UP to 250 staff at a high-end online fashion retailer face the boot after being replaced by robots.

Zalando said it would automate roles in its marketing department. Computers will pump out more promotions at a faster rate, it said.

Businesses are increasingly automating manufacturing roles as a way of reducing costs and improving efficiency but there is little evidence of office jobs being handed over to robots.

Bakery chain Greggs is laying off several hundred employees as it makes production of its sausage rolls and doughnuts automated. Think-tank McKinsey Global Institute predicts that up to 800m workers will be replaced by robots by 2030.