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 insurer Norwich Union, part of Aviva, revealed the full extent of its plans for outsourcing for the first time and was immediately warned of the possibility of strike action by union officials at Amicus. The company has already moved 3,700 jobs to the subcontinent but acknowledged that another 3,300 would be moved over the next three years. Aviva admitted that the decision would mean 150 compulsory redundancies in 2005 when it expects to shift a total of 950 jobs offshore. The company said previous experience had shown that most of the job reductions could be achieved through staff turnover, redeployment and retraining. Amicus said the decision pointed to a ‘bleak future for the UK financial services industry'. A spokesman said: ‘The company is playing the numbers game. We are opposed to compulsory redundancies.' The compulsory job losses will fall in Norwich, where 70 cuts are earmarked, and York, where 60 jobs will go. Another 20 will be spread across the Aviva operations, which has a total of 30,000 staff in the UK.
Eurofound (2004), Norwich Union, Offshoring/Delocalisation in United Kingdom, factsheet number 60532, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/60532.