Many workers, particularly women, were vehemently opposed to the use of the Spinning Jenny because they saw it as a direct threat to their livelihood. Before the Jenny, spinning was a major source of employment for women who worked from their homes. A single person could only operate one spindle at a time. The Spinning Jenny, however, was a machine that allowed a single worker to operate multiple spindles simultaneously, dramatically increasing the output of yarn. This meant that one person with a machine could do the work of many. The workers feared, quite correctly, that this new technology would lead to mass unemployment, making their skills redundant and depriving them of their source of income.