>"Startups often make money primarily by reducing costs, and cost reduction nearly always means job reduction."

This is an old, old, old mistake people make when talking economics. "The Luddite Fallacy" - to be exact.

Yes, technology that reduces costs and automates production means the loss of jobs. However, it also increases the total production of society, which increases demand for other jobs.

We used to be a nation of 90% farmers. Now about 2% of workers are involved in agriculture. What happened to the other 88%? They aren't unemployed. Rather, they are employed in other jobs that never would have been created if those agricultural jobs were not destroyed by technology.