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.
Polish coal mining company Polska Grupa Górnicza (PGG) has announced that 4,937 employees of the company want to enter the voluntary dismissal programme meaning that PGG will cut more jobs than it initially declared in May 2016 (then PGG announced that 600 jobs will be cut by the end of 2016). The restructuring programme is a part of larger company’s plan aiming at increasing financial and organisational effectiveness; among other things, the company has already merged its coal mines in order to simplify the structure of the group.
PGG was founded in April 2016 to rescue the cash-strapped Kompania Węglowa (KW), Poland's biggest coal mining company which is facing financial problem resulting from the crisis in Poland’s coal-mining industry. PGG has acquired 11 coal mines with 32,500 employees.
UPDATE 08/09/2016: The company Polska Grupa Górnicza (PGG) has announced that it will cut 660 managerial and administrative positions by the end of 2016. The company plans to save PLN 61 million (EUR 14.18 million USD 15.96 million) annually with this programme. PGG has already merged the 11 previously acquired coal mines into 5, in order to simplify the structure of the group and improve its effectiveness.
Eurofound (2016), Polska Grupa Górnicza, Internal restructuring in Poland, factsheet number 88313, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/88313.