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.
Patisserie Valerie, the chain of cafes has entered administration. At present the total number of job losses is uncertain, though closures have started and 920 employees have been made redundant. The chain employed 2,800 staff when it entered administration on 22 January 2019, when negotiations with its creditors broke down. The next day the administrators announced that 71 branches would close with immediate effect with the loss of 920 jobs. The remaining 122 branches will continue to trade as normal. The business's collapse is related to apparent fraudulent activity in its accounting processes. The collapse has led to questions of the auditors who allegedly failed to spot the fraud and signed off the company's accounts. A buyer is being sought for the firm.
Eurofound (2019), Patisserie Valerie, Bankruptcy in United Kingdom, factsheet number 96672, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/96672.