Technical progress, organisational innovations and labour intensity

The purpose of this article is to discuss the combined effects of Industry 4.0 and lean production in the context of global supply chains on working conditions. Our thesis is that the changes of technique based on integrating Industry 4.0 technologies with lean production incur a substantial cost to labour, manifesting as increased work intensity. In Marxian terminology, they have increased the extraction rate of relative surplus value. Our contribution is closely related to the critical global value chain literature and proposes to contribute to this literature by emphasising the relevance of Industry 4.0 technologies in implementing lean production methods and reinforcing control by head companies over the entire chain. Additionally, it discusses how these dynamics manifest in companies and impact the world of work through surveys conducted with workers. These surveys were carried out in a set of Italian metal-mechanical companies involved in various global chains.