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 toys retailer PicWicToys has announced a regorganisation that will lead to 447 job cuts from a total workforce of 1,237 employees. The announcement arrives less than a year after Luderix International, the parent company of PicWicToys, took over the French Toys'r Us stores. This restructuring is mainly due to a 14% drop in its turnover following the social movements at the end of 2019 ("gilet jaunes" ) and the coronavirus crisis. The restructuring will involve "closure of a warehouse unsuited to current needs", the closure of one of its two central purchasing units and the closure of 23 stores out of a total of 63. 'The company indicated that it intends to accelerate the implementation of its new business and economic model based on digital technology and in-store customer experience'.
Eurofound (2020), PicWicToys, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 100790, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/100790.