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.
Avon, the UK-based cosmetics company, has announced a collective redundancy plan that will affect 129 employees in Spain (51% of the national workforce).
The company justifies the restructuring with economic, productive, and organisational reasons. Avon has experienced a decline in profitability in recent years, a trend accentuated by the impact of COVID-19. Moreover, job losses would be necessary in Spain in order to adapt to the company's global transformation programme 'Open Up & Grow', based on brand differentiation enhancement, digitisation of commercial tools, and evolution of the operating model.
The departments that will experience the greatest impact will be Marketing and Customer Service. Specifically, the company will offer voluntary redundancies, to minimise the impact of the plan.
Eurofound (2021), Avon, Internal restructuring in Spain, factsheet number 105049, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/105049.