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.
McLaren, the British sports car maker has announced that it will cut 1,200 jobs from its global workforce, with the vast majority of cuts in the UK. The cuts will affect all three of the company’s divisions: Formula 1 racing, road-car manufacturing and Applied Technologies.
A statement by the company said that they had no alternative but to reduce their workforce if they were to remain sustainable, as the demand for their luxury sports cars had fallen and Formula 1 racing had been suspended in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. McLaren’s request for emergency funding has been rejected by the UK government, however, the company has benefitted from the publicly funded coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, designed to retain jobs.
McLaren was founded in 1963 and it has gradually become a major investor in technology-focussed research and development activities in the UK.
Eurofound (2020), McLaren, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 101087, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/101087.