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 July 18th 2011, the IT company Cisco Systems announced its intention to cut 6500 positions. This includes about 2,100 staff opting for voluntary early retirement. This also includes a reduction totalling approximately 15 percent of employees at vice president level and above. With this restructuring, Cisco is to cut its workforce by 9% as it struggles to improve its performance and refocus on its core network equipment operations.
"All affected employees will receive severance pay and outplacement assistance", said the company. The company expects to reduce its workforce by another 5000 employees after the sale of a factory in Mexico acquired in 2006. It will be sold to the Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn.
This restructuring will cost 1.3 billion dollars to the company and is a part of a one billion dollar annual operating expenses reduction plan announced in May. "Impacted employees in the United States, Canada and select countries will be notified during the first week of August", underlines Cisco.
Eurofound (2011), Cisco, Internal restructuring in World, factsheet number 72202, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/72202.