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.
Sainsbury’s, the British retailer has announced a restructuring programme which puts 3,500 jobs at risk of redundancy in Sainsbury’s supermarkets and Sainsbury's Argos stores across the UK.
In the supermarkets, all meat, fish and delicatessen counters will be closed, due to lower customer demand and a 'desire to reduce food waste', said the company’s chief executive officer. In addition, 120 Argos stores, which have been closed since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic reached the UK, will shut permanently. Further 300 Argos stores will be closed by 2024.
The CEO said that the COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated change that was already underway, with the proportion of online sales doubling compared to 2019.
J Sainsbury is the largest retailer in the UK. It has three divisions: Sainsbury's Supermarkets (the UK’s second largest supermarket chain), Sainsbury's Bank, and Sainsbury's Argos since the company acquired Argos, the catalogue and online retailer in 2016.
Eurofound (2020), Sainsbury's , Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 102580, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/102580.