What if I launch a new fast food franchise that uses automation from the start?

I never had employees so nobody is being let go. Your proposal would give me a massive advantage against incumbents like McDonalds, since they'd be trapped with either high labor or high tax costs.

What if that industry is automated because the jobs are dangerous? What if it's automated because having robots do the job allows for more precision, which in turn can save lives (ie medical devices)?

I don't think it's fair to try split the issue into 'good' and 'bad' automation because in either case there is a displaced worker that needs more resources to change careers than unemployment can provide.

If we're going to live up to the expectation that automation will free up labor to work on more useful things then that labor has to have mobility and access to education.