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.
Waitrose, the British supermarket chain has announced it will open a new Waitrose.com fulfilment centre in west London in late 2020, creating 800 jobs.
A statement by Waitrose said the new fulfilment centre would increase the availability of online delivery for customers in London. The executive director of Waitrose declared that online expansion plans had been brought forward to meet the increased demand for online grocery shopping in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Waitrose.com orders are delivered to customers from a network of Waitrose shops across the UK. However, to meet high demand in densely populated London, Waitrose has a number of dedicated online fulfilment centres in and around the capital. The new fulfilment centre will be operated by Wincanton, the British logistics company.
Waitrose is owned by the John Lewis Partnership, which operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose & Partners supermarkets, banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities.
Eurofound (2020), Waitrose, Business expansion in United Kingdom, factsheet number 101393, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/101393.