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.
Petroleum services company Subsea 7 has announced a reduction of its staff in Norway by 190 employees before the beginning of 2016. Subsea 7 has offices in Stavanger, Oslo, Kristiansund, Grimstad and Tromsø. All parts of the company will be affected in some way, but it is not yet known to what extent each office and base will be affected. However, it is likely that a large proportion of the cuts will be made in Stavanger The company has already initiated consultations with employees and union representatives. The process will be gradual, with weekly meetings.
The restructuring was initiated after a drop in crude prices and a decline in demand in the subsea services market, but is also designed to strengthen the company's long term competiveness. The company will reduce its fleet, which now consists of 39 vessels, by 11 vessels in the next year. In addition, there will be a restructuring of the company's organization.
The restructuring is part of a global effort to reduce costs in the company, which will affect 2,500 of its 13,000 employees. The Norwegian branch of the company completed a previous round of restructuring as late as December 2014, which affected 150 employees.
Eurofound (2015), Subsea 7 Norway, Internal restructuring in Norway, factsheet number 83627, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/83627.