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.
Monarch Airlines has announced details of a significant investment of £125 million from Greybull Capital, which has acquired a 90pc stake in the company. The company announced that with the takeover 700 jobs would be lost.
As part of the investment package, there will be some scaling back of activities. The fleet of aircraft will be reduced from 42 to 34 and from summer 2015 the company will no longer fly from East Midlands Airport. The company will operate from 5 UK airports: London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, London Luton and Leeds-Bradford.
Previously union members had voted to accept a 30pc pay cut in order to keep the company viable. Of the 700 announced redundancies it is reported that two-thirds of these will be achieved by seeking volunteers. It is not known when the job cuts will take effect.
Eurofound (2014), Monarch Airlines, Merger/Acquisition in United Kingdom, factsheet number 77764, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/77764.