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.
US defence company General Dynamics has announced the creation of 250 new skilled jobs in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales as a result of a decision to shift maintenance and some assembly of specialist armoured vehicles from Spain to the United Kingdom. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded the maintenance contract for the SCOUT SV to General Dynamics, which was reported to be worth an estimated GBP £390 million (approximately €551 million) and will run until 2024. In addition, the company is setting up a new facility to assemble and test a new armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) in South Wales. The first newly manufacturing armoured vehicles are scheduled for delivery to the UK MoD in 2017. The 250 new jobs are in addition to 200 jobs that were safeguarded in 2014 as a result of an earlier decision by the UK MoD to buy 589 Scout armoured vehicles. The company has said that this maintenance and production work supports an additional 2,650 jobs in the supply chain across the United Kingdom.
Eurofound (2015), General Dynamics UK, Relocation in United Kingdom, factsheet number 84315, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/84315.