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.
Following on from continued expansion in 2015, when it created around 10,000 jobs, Amazon intends to create "a few thousand" more jobs in Europe and the USA over the course of 2016. At least 500 of these will be created in Dublin and 2,300 across two sites in the USA. A new data centre and UK head office will also be established in London. The jobs will largely be in research and development in the ICT sector, although lower skilled work in Amazon's fulfilment centres and customer service will also expand. Three new fulfilment centres will open in the USA. A key feature of Amazon's expansion will be continued growth and expansion in the cloud computing segments of its operations. The new research jobs will also focus on moving into fresh food delivery and drones, with trials of the former being undertaken in Berlin.
Eurofound (2016), Amazon, Business expansion in World, factsheet number 87642, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/87642.