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.
On 19th August 2009, Lloyds Banking Group announced that it is to reconsider the closure of its C&G brabches across the UK in a move that may save 833 jobs. The company has not confirmed that the branches will remain open indefinately, however they will not close in November as previously announced.
The firm had announced in June that another 1,660 job losses. According to the announcement, all 164 Cheltenham and Gloucester branches were to be closed by the end of November 2009, with the loss of 833 jobs. Meanwhile, the Chester office of Lloyds personal loans business is to be closed by the end of 2011 and operations moved to London, resulting in the loss of a further 265 jobs, with other jobs also going across its retail, personal finance and mortgage sales operations. Reorganisation and reduction on Black Horse personal finance centres, including moving its car financing arm CarSelect from Cardiff to Birmingham, would result in the loss of 140 jobs by October 2009. The bank is also cutting 159 jobs as mortgages from Bank of Scotland and Intelligent Finance become unavailable from 1 July 2009.
These announcements are possibly to counter concerns about anti-competitiveness, and are the latest of many job losses totalling approximately 4000 so far as part of Lloyds' merger with Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in January this year. Unite, the UK's largest trade union called the cuts "nothing short of disgraceful". Its general secretary, Derek Simpson, said: "This is truly a dark day for the financial services sector in this country." Helen Weir, in charge of Lloyds' retail banking, said: "We will work through these changes carefully and sensitively and continue to consult closely with our unions throughout."
Previously announced cutbacks are reported in separate factsheets (1, 2, and 3).
Eurofound (2009), Lloyds, Merger/Acquisition in United Kingdom, factsheet number 69081, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/69081.