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.
Supermarket trolley-maker Clares has gone into administration and has closed its Somerset factory in Wells with the loss of 343 jobs. Initially the company tried to retain 193 jobs on site but announced in late March that the factory was to close completely.
Its other factory in Swindon employing 230 people was also to close, however a buyer has stepped in to save 81 jobs meaning that 149 jobs have been lost.
The move came after administrators were called into the firm. 85 of the redundancies are in manufacturing and administration whilst the remainder are in shelving and check outs. The company, which has had a 50% share of the UK market, has suffered recently at the hands of cheaper imports. It was established in 1966 and supplies baskets, roll containers, material handling equipment, luggage trolleys and checkouts as well as trolleys.
Eurofound (2007), Clares Group, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 65069, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/65069.