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.
Peters Opal, a firm that retails luxury boats, has been declared bankrupt and 130 have been consequently made redundant. Peters Opal sells luxury motor cruisers, motor yachts and sailing boats made by a range of manufacturers. The firm has sites at Chichester, Ipswich, Eastbourne, Gosport, Swanwick, Brixham, and Inverkip, although most of the company’s 180 staff are based at the firm’s headquarters in Chichester. Accountancy firm KPMG have been appointed as administrators. Jane Moriarty, partner at KPMG Restructuring and joint administrator, said:
‘Due to difficult trading conditions the company has experienced extreme cash flow problems.’
‘Although the business continues to trade, we have unfortunately had to make 130 members of staff redundant.’
Peters Opal lost a distribution contract with yacht maker Sealine in July 2007. This followed the loss of a similar contract with Fairline in 2005. The company’s sales had also been affected by the poor weather that the UK has experienced in previous months.
Eurofound (2007), Peters Opal, Bankruptcy in United Kingdom, factsheet number 65703, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/65703.