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.
Grampian Country Food Group announced on 27 September 2006 that it is to pull out of the frozen poultry market. This decision is threatening the firm's 111 workers at its plant in Bucksburn, Aberdeen with redundancy. Bucksburn is the only plant where the company processes frozen chicken. A company spokesman said the decision to discontinue frozen chicken followed a downturn in demand, but the exact job implications were not clear. Grampian Country Food Group said the downturn had forced a review of that side of its operations. The company said it was too early to say how many workers could be made redundant as other job opportunities could become available. Alternative ways of developing the Bucksburn site will also be explored. Aberdeen North SNP MSP Brian Adam: 'This is extremely disappointing news and I hope that Grampian Country Foods will do all they can to find alternative employment for the 111 workers.'
More than 40 jobs had already been lost at the Bucksburn factory earlier this year. And there have been other job losses at operations in Banff.
Eurofound (2006), Grampian Country Food Group, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 63438, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/63438.