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.
Kwik Fit Insurance Services have started a consultation over the proposed closure of their offices in Uddingston, North Lanarkshire. The company which is owned by Belgian firm Ageas confirmed that the business had been suffering a decline in work volume for some time; five years ago the site provided work for 900 employees, compared with the current figure of 521. A spokesperson for Ageas blamed the decline on changes in the insurance market and how people buy their products. The site is due for closure by the end of March 2017, though there are hopes that another business will take over the running of the premises.
UPDATE 12/01/2017: Owners Ageas have confirmed that the Kwik Fit Insurance Services offices in Uddingston will close on 31 March 2017. Government and local council had been working together to try to identify options for keeping the site viable, however no rescue plan could be agreed upon. Ageas has committed to trying to find alternative work for those affected by identifying other suitable local vacancies.
Eurofound (2016), Kwik Fit Insurance Services, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 89358, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/89358.