Automation isn't worth it unless you have a high demand. A skilled machinist can create many different parts, one day he makes parts for a transformer, then next he is building parts for a ship, and a week later he is doing custom parts for the rail roads. A skilled automation engineer would still need a few months to automate each of those separate parts, while the machinist is is done in a couple days with each. Once the automation is done the automated process can produce a lot more parts a lot faster, and cheaper - but if you only need one/a few the automation isn't worth it.
Of course automation is getting better/cheaper. Things that were not wroth automating in 1960 are now so easy that you would automate it even if you only need one. Modern CAD/CAM systems can often go from drawing to automated production with the press of a button. Over time more and more things will be automated.
Skilled machinists need to be trained. Sometimes you automate production just because you can get an engineer to design the automation faster than you can get access to skilled machinists to do the job. (this assumes the automation can be set up with less skilled labor - often automation itself requires more machinist time than one of the part it is making)
Of course automation is getting better/cheaper. Things that were not wroth automating in 1960 are now so easy that you would automate it even if you only need one. Modern CAD/CAM systems can often go from drawing to automated production with the press of a button. Over time more and more things will be automated.
Skilled machinists need to be trained. Sometimes you automate production just because you can get an engineer to design the automation faster than you can get access to skilled machinists to do the job. (this assumes the automation can be set up with less skilled labor - often automation itself requires more machinist time than one of the part it is making)