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.
Harveys, the British furniture store chain has entered administration with 240 immediate job losses. The remaining 1,330 jobs are at risk of redundancy but continue to work while the administrators are looking for a buyer for the company.
The administrators said the job losses were necessary due to the economic position of the Blue Group, which owns Harveys. The administrators promised to support the employees who had lost their jobs by liaising with the relevant government agencies, such as the Redundancy Payments Service.
According to media reports, the chief executive of the Blue Group said the administration and the restructuring would ensure that the business can survive the Covid-19 crisis. Analysts said that furniture retailers, including Harveys, were already facing difficult market conditions before non-essential shops were temporarily closed stores in March.
Harveys was founded in London in 1966. It is one of the largest furniture specialists in the UK, selling living room and dining room furniture in over 150 stores.
Eurofound (2020), Harveys, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 101503, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/101503.