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 Dutch postal and courier service, PostNL, announced on 27 February 2017 that it will reduce 500 to 600 full time equivalent (FTEs) positions per year until 2020, which is expected to come to a total of 2,000 to 2,400 job losses. PostNL's management has stated the internal restructuring is required to reduce costs as mail delivery has decreased by nearly 10% over the course of 2016. The company hopes that many of the job reductions can be fulfilled through national attrition.
Inversely, the delivery of packages, due to e-commerce activities, is increasing, through which PostNL hopes to create 1,600 FTEs by 2020.
As of February 2017, PostNL has approximately 24,000 full time equivalent positions, which are filled by 46,500 workers.
Eurofound (2017), PostNL, Internal restructuring in Netherlands, factsheet number 92893, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/92893.