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.
Railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) will cut around 300 jobs as of 2007 in its department for train schedules. According to NS, the measures are in line with the company's cost-cutting programme, aimed at ensuring its competitiveness. NS seeks to improve its performance indicators in order to win a contract for exclusive passenger transport in the Netherlands. The carrier currently has the exclusive rights to operate the busy passenger rail lines in the country until 2015. Afterwards a new tender will be organised, where foreign competitors are likely to bid for the rights as well. Trade union FNV Bondgenoten said it was against forced layoffs and would work out a social plan to cushion the consequences of the staff
reduction. As many as 1,000 work at the schedules department.
Eurofound (2006), Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Internal restructuring in Netherlands, factsheet number 63029, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/63029.