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.
Dutch company Blokker Holding announced a restructuring of its chains Blokker and Marskramer. The internal restructuring will produce a loss of 1,900 full-time jobs, under 9 percent of its workforce, over the next two years. As part of the restructuring programme, Blokker Holding will sell all its franchise formulae – Intertoys (Intertoys/Bart Smit/Toys XL), Maxi Toys, Xenos, Big Bazar and Leen Bakker- except Blokker. The franchise formulae up for sale employ around 13,500 workers and the group hopes to sell them intact.
This internal restructure and the consequent decision will affect employees in the Netherlands(1900 jobs lost) and led to cut 302 jobs in Belgium in February 2017.
Eurofound (2017), Blokker Holding, Internal restructuring in European Union, factsheet number 91070, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/91070.