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.
Oil and gas exploration company, Shell UK, has announced plans to reduce its workforce by 250 jobs. The jobs will be lost from the company’s North Sea operation. Shell UK is part of the Royal Dutch Shell with the UK operations comprised of around sixty offshore and sub-sea facilities and three onshore gas plants in the UK. Media reportage suggests that the reduction in the workforce will occur at the company’s oil and gas hub, based in Aberdeen in Scotland.The company has said the both full-time employees and core contractors working in the onshore operations will be impacted by the restructuring of the upstream onshore operations.
Shell UK employs around 5,500 workers in Scotland, including contractors. Shell has commenced consultation with the workforce with the reduction in staffing planned to be completed by the end of 2014. The Scottish Government is reported to have said that they will help any workers who are made redundant in finding new employment. This announcement by Shell follows a similar announcement on 16 July 2014 by US multi-national Chevron, to cut 225 jobs from its North Sea operations, also based in Aberdeen.
Eurofound (2014), UK Shell, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 77396, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/77396.