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.
Insurance company Swinton Insurance has announced that it intends to cut staff numbers by 900 across its UK operations. The decision to cut jobs is a response to customer behaviour, with around 90% of the firm's business being conducted via telephone or online. The company is proposing to close 84 of its high street branches and is also reviewing the role of one of its call centres in Norwich, which currently employs 183 staff. Even with the proposed cuts, Swinton will still remain as the largest broker on the high street. A formal consultation is due to begin with affected workers, who may be redeployed to other parts of the business if possible. It is expected that the job cuts will be complete by the end of 2017.
Eurofound (2017), Swinton Insurance, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 90982, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/90982.