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.
Cadbury Ireland is to seek up to 450 redundancies at its Coolock manufacturing plant in Dublin. The job losses are blamed by the company on higher wages and increasing costs in areas such as energy and insurance. The redundancies will be staggered over the next two to three years and will reduce by almost a third Cadbury's total workforce in Ireland, which currently stands at 1100. In a statement, the company said it had briefed staff of a "change programme" centred on redundancies, adoption of new technology and modernisation of work practices. If successfully carried out, these changes would "restore competitiveness" to the Coolock factory, while investment of more than 100 million euros would follow over the next three years, the company said. Cadbury currently employs some 1,500 people in Ireland. As well as 1,100 staff in Coolock, 100 employees are based in Rathmore, Co Kerry; 50 work in Tallaght, Dublin; and the remaining 250 operate between sites.
Eurofound (2006), Cadbury, Internal restructuring in Ireland, factsheet number 64270, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/64270.