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.
Keltbray, a company specialist in civil engineering, has announced plans to reduce the size of its UK workforce by 300 jobs as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has started the consultation process with its staff. The job losses will amount to around 15% of the current workforce of 2,000 people and will take place in back office roles and the Built Environment Division, which was hardest hit by the Coronavirus.
The company furloughed under the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme around one-third of its staff when the UK lockdown hit. It also cut salaries of senior staff. The company has said that these measures were not efficient enough, so the company needed to restructure its workforce to cut operating costs.
Eurofound (2020), Keltbray, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 101266, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/101266.