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.
Commerzbank will cut up to 9,600 jobs over the next four years. The jobs will be lost worldwide and in all units of the bank. In the same period the bank has announced an investment plan that will lead to recruit 2,300 employees, so that the net announced losses decrease to 7,300 job cuts on a total workforce of 51,300 employees. The restructuring comes in an effort to reduce costs as the bank has to face to very low interest rate that impact its competitiveness. The restructuring costs will reach €1.1 billion.
The bank explains it want to concentrate on its core businesses and digitalise 80% of relevant processes, thereby achieving significant efficiency gains. Its business will be focused in two customer segments, “Private and Small Business Customers” and “Corporate Clients”. The Mittelstandsbank and Corporates & Markets segments will be consolidated into a single unit and trading activities in investment banking scaled back. According to the bank, "the focus on the core business, with some business activities being discontinued, and the digitalisation and automation of workflows will lead to staff reductions amounting to around 9,600 full-time positions. At the same time, around 2,300 new jobs will be created in areas of business growth" .Commerzbank already announced restructuring activities during and after the financial crisis, which lead to 6,000 job cuts in 2013 and 9,000 in 2008.
Eurofound (2016), Commerzbank, Internal restructuring in World, factsheet number 88754, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/88754.