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.
Intertoys, a nation-wide toy store chain, has announced the closure of at least 90 stores, resulting in the dismissal of up to 2,200 employees. The toy store chain was declared bankrupt in February 2019 due to decreased number of sales and was then acquired by the Portuguese investment fund Green Swan. After negotiations with franchisees and the sites’ landlords, the company decided to keep 230 branches open. With the acquisition of Intertoys and other toy store chains in Belgium, Spain and Portugal, Green Swan aims to become the largest toy chain in Europe.
Eurofound (2019), Intertoys, Merger/Acquisition in Netherlands, factsheet number 97366, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/97366.