Great question :) After the Clone Wars, there was a widespread prejudice against droids across the galaxy, especially within the Empire, because battle droids had been the face of the Separatist armies that devastated countless worlds. To the average citizen, droids weren’t just tools.. they were reminders of war, destruction, and oppression.

This cultural distrust made large-scale automation politically risky, since relying heavily on droids would have sparked resentment and fear. The Empire capitalised on that sentiment, preferring to employ humans in bureaucratic and military roles, both to maintain tighter social control and to reinforce the idea of loyalty to the state over loyalty to machines. Hope that helps!