Ethics in the digital workplace
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
Actic Group, a Northern European gym operator, has announced its plans to dismiss up to 900 employees in Sweden. The company operates 131 units in Sweden, 29 units in Norway and 26 in Germany. The non-Swedish units will also suffer job losses. The company says that its profitability has significantly decreased due to the actions taken by the authorities in order to stem the the transmission of COVID-19. The company has cancelled annual dividend payments to shareholders and it also considers using the option recently given by the Swedish government to temporarily lay off personnel and postpone tax and other payments. The company has debts worth around 3.9 times adjusted earnings (EBITDA).
Eurofound (2020), Actic Group , Internal restructuring in Sweden, factsheet number 100070, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/100070.