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.
The Accor group, a European leader in the hotel business and world leader in services to companies and public authorities, has announced a reorganisation of its worldwide headquarters, including Accor's world headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux (Haut-de-Seine) and its historic site in Evry (Essonne). In total, between 300 and 400 jobs will be cut in France out of a total workforce of 3,600 employees. The process of information and consultation with employees' representatives starts in November.
'The information-consultation process has not started, and no figure has been advanced internally by management' said a union source, whereas the head of the group admitted 'we did not anticipate the strength of this second COVID-19 wave'.
The group, which includes brands such as Ibis, Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, and Pullman, had been forced to close a large part of its hotels around the world for several months following the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore going to put in place a saving costs plan aimed at reducing its recurrent costs by €200 million by 2022. This plan will result in the loss of a 1,000 jobs worldwide, out of a total of 18,000. The group went into the red in the first half of the year with a net loss of €1.5 billion, mainly due to impairments in the value of some of its assets as a result of the pandemic.
Eurofound (2020), Accor, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 102427, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/102427.