It's the way the industry is headed, Buster - LESS "front line" staff, MORE office staff. Something of an irony, isn't it, when staff who are employed to assist the customers (the people who provide the revenue) are replaced by machines, but more "assistants to the managers of B.S Castle" are employed!
IMHO, the pioneers of Oz aviation - Sir Reginald Ansett, W. Hudson Fysh, and later Max Hazelton - demonstrated how to SUCCESSFULLY operate airline businesses.
Today's airlines are mainly, overly top-heavy with non revenue-producing office staff.
From the security aspect, Buster, that "first line" of defence has been removd, with automated check-in, however I wonder how effective - in the main - they really were?
And worldwide, the security "goons" - who have achieved a much higher profile since Sept 11 - get a continual bollocking here, and elsewhere, for being "over zealous" with their checks.
However, they may well be the ONLY check in most countries before much longer!
Personally, I don't like to see people being displaced - did I mention that ALL of the pre-Flight Planning and briefing here, is now via a computer...it is set up such that we (pilots) NEVER need see a human, from sign-on to sign-off!
ALL modifications (if any) to the flight plan, eg. change to fuel, FL, or routing is done via a computer - however it's the way we're headed, and the majority apparently WANT it this way.