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.
Fortis bank terminated 168 jobs in Belgium (900 worldwide, factsheet 14339) during the first three months of 2009. The departments 'merchant bank' and 'retail bank' were the most affected. Among the jobs lost, which represent 0.9% of the whole staff, 75 workers were retired, 70 workers voluntary left the company and 23 were made redundant. The lost jobs are the consequence of a policy Fortis has been conducting since the end of 2008 and which consists in the non-replacement of the workers who left. Fortis was severely concerned by the financial crisis and the Belgian units were sold to the French bank BNP Paribas. The merger between Fortis bank and BNP Paribas led many workers to leave the company fearing any collective redundancy.
Eurofound (2009), Fortis, Internal restructuring in Belgium, factsheet number 69523, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/69523.