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.
The German-American-owned money transporter SecurCash has announced that it will close two of its locations, in Houten and Amsterdam (both West Netherlands), which according to the trade union CNV will result in 140 job losses, of which about 80 concern Amsterdam. The job cuts are most likely to be implemented by the end of 2017. The company has stated that the decrease in the use of cash has affected its business, and it further wishes to become more efficient by consolidating its locations, automating processes, and outsourcing some of its activities. The head office will move from Houten to Delft. The trade unions expressed their concern for those losing their jobs, as it is not likely they will be able to secure a position in any of the remaining locations. A redundancy plan was already in place from an earlier round of restructuring in 2016.
SecurCash was formed in 2015 when the German Wincor Nixdorf acquired the Dutch money transporter Brink's and merged it with its daughter company SecurCash. In 2016, Wincor Dixdorf merged with Diebold, together employing some 17,000 persons worldwide.
Eurofound (2017), SecurCash, Internal restructuring in Netherlands, factsheet number 91001, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/91001.