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.
Wood Group, a provider of support services to the oil industry, has announced that it has reduced its headcount by 13 per cent over the first six months of 2015.
According to press reports, this amounts to job losses of 4000 to 5000, out of a global workforce of 41,000. Approximately 1,000 jobs were lost in the UK 3,000 in the US and 1,000 in the Middle East. The cuts are assumed to have affected temporary contractors rather than full-time employees. The job losses were announced in February. They reflect challenging conditions in the oil and gas markets, which have affected demand for Wood Group's services.
Eurofound (2015), Wood Group, Internal restructuring in World, factsheet number 84660, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/84660.