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.
Contralco, manufacturer of breathalyzer kits for alcohol detection, has announced 226 job cuts out of a total workforce of 310. The firm will dismiss all its employees on short-term employment contracts and temporary workers.
The job cuts are due to changes in government regulation. While in 2012 it was decided that every driver was to carry breathalyser kits, this decision was reversed in 2013. According to Contralco, the company received order cancellations of 8 million breathalyzers, representing two months of production output.
Eurofound (2013), Contralco, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 74848, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/74848.