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.
HSS Hire, the British company that specialises in renting construction and civil engineering tools and equipment has announced that it will close 134 of its sites across the UK, making 300 jobs redundant, as it pursues a business strategy increasingly based on technological platforms. The company also states that the COVID-19 outbreak accelerated these investments.
The chief executive said that the loss of jobs will be a regrettable result of a strategy aimed at reducing the company's physical footprint, but also that the company successfully supported its customers during the COVID-19 restrictions, demonstrating that 'digital channels and click-and-collect service were good alternatives to branches'.
HSS Hire Group rents tools and equipment, from carpet cleaners to concrete mixers, primarily to business customers. The company has over 300 branches and 2,000 employees.
Eurofound (2020), HSS Hire Service Group, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 102260, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/102260.