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.
Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems is to make 600 job cuts in the UK when it closes its Isle of White factory in June. The company blames the reduced demand in Northern Europe and intends to expand in China and the US, where demand is greater. There will be a 2 - 3 month consultation with workers, to give career and retraining support, advice and guidance to those affected. The TUC's general secretary said the UK job losses "would not only be a blow to the emerging green sector, but would also be a personal tragedy for the hundreds of workers affected locally."
Eurofound (2009), Vestas Wind Systems, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 68865, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/68865.