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.
Tata Steel has announced plans to cut a further 1,050 jobs. The news comes after the company had announced hundreds of job losses at the end of 2015. 750 jobs are to be cut at the UK's largest steelworks at Port Talbot, South Wales, where a 45 day consultation has started. 100 jobs will be lost from the mills in Trostre, Corby and Hartlepool as well as 200 support jobs. The announcement is another blow for the UK steel industry which is struggling in the face of cheap Chinese imports which have substantially lowered the price steel can achieve in European markets.
The Port Talbot steelworks employs around 4,000 workers is reported to be losing 1 million GBP daily. There are fears about the long-term viability of the site and also what the effect will be on surrounding business which have developed as a result of the money generated by the steelworks.
Eurofound (2016), Tata Steel, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 86259, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/86259.