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.
The Belgian chemical company Solvay has announced a reorganisation of its composite materials business with 570 job cuts in the United States and UK as it accelerated its restructuring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The total headcount of the division would fall by about 20%. The reorganisation leads to he closure of two sites at Tulsa (Oklahoma, USA) and Manchester (UK). The two sites will be closed before the end of the year. Solvay plans to transfer some activities to other plants in the USA and UK. The division, which makes plastics, resins and carbon fibre material for the aerospace industry, had already started a cost-cutting programme with 500 job cuts due to reduced production of Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX plane (see ERM FS). But this reorganisation is currently not sufficient to overcome the drop in expected demand for civil aircraft caused due to COVID-19.
Eurofound (2020), Solvay, Internal restructuring in World, factsheet number 100699, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/100699.