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.
KBC, one of the largest Belgian banks, has announced it will undergo significant restructuring measures within the coming 3 years in order to improve efficiency. In total it will be cutting 1,400 jobs starting in September 2019 across all of its Belgian facilities (local offices, headquarters, support services, and so on). In addition it will terminate contracts with 400 external contractors that are currently working for the company. According to the company, the job cuts will be implemented without recourse to compulsory redundancies. Some 300 jobs will be relocated to service centres in Czechia (Brno) and Bulgaria (Varna).
Eurofound (2019), KBC, Internal restructuring in Belgium, factsheet number 98406, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/98406.