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.
Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), the UK-based bus and coach builder, has announced that it will cut 650 jobs across the UK at its bases in Falkirk and Larbert in Scotland and Guilford and Scarborough in England. The job cuts will affect both manufacturing and operational support roles. The formal redundancy consultations with affected staff have already started.
The company’s chief executive said that the cuts were necessary because the COVID-19 pandemic had brought an ‘unprecedented crisis’ to the travel industry. The company called on the UK and the Scottish governments to provide targeted support in order to save jobs and help renewing the country's bus fleet with lower-emission models.
The trade union Unite Scotland criticised the restructuring plans, arguing that the decision to cut jobs was ‘premature' and that the company's aim was to reduce manufacturing capacity in the UK and transfer capacity to other countries. However, Unite also called on the governments to order more environmentally friendly new buses from Alexander Dennis.
Alexander Dennis Limited is the world’s largest manufacturer of double-decker buses. In 2019, the company was acquired by the Canadian NFI Group, which produces buses and coaches for the North American market.
Update 2/10/2020
The trade union Unite has announced that Alexander Dennis was planning to cut a further 70 jobs at its site in Falkirk, Scotland, bringing the total number of jobs lost to 720.
Eurofound (2020), Alexander Dennis, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 101812, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/101812.