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.
Colgate-Palmolive announced on 7 December 2004 plans to cut 12% of its workforce and close a third of its 78 factories worldwide as it struggles with rising raw material and energy costs and intense competition. The company, which sells its products in 223 countries, said it intends to source products from fewer, ‘more sophisticated state-of-the art' factories. The firm intends to put renewed focus and investment on developing markets including eastern Europe, Russia, China, Latin America and other parts of Asia. That will include beefing up sales and marketing functions in those countries and regions. Most of the job losses will be in manufacturing plants. The programme put ‘a de-emphasis on the production end of the business and an added emphasis on on-the-ground distribution, sales and promotion efforts'.
Eurofound (2004), Colgate-Palmolive, Internal restructuring in World, factsheet number 60856, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/60856.