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.
Clugston, a construction company based in the North of England, has entered into administration and 150 of its 412 workers have been made redundant with immediate effect. The administrators explained that they will search for potential acquirers and will support the affected workers by providing information on how they can claim their rightful entitlements. They will also try to resell some contacts and retain 262 workers employed.
A representative of Unite the union said that they were seeking a meeting with the administrators about wages the company owed to their members.
Clugston was founded over 80 years ago and is involved in civil engineering and construction as well as property management, working across the North of England and the Midlands.
Update 21/01/2020:The administrators of Clugston Construction announced on 7 January 2020 that further 128 employees had been made redundant, taking the current number of job losses to 278. The announcement also included that new employment opportunities have been found for 82 people.
Eurofound (2019), Clugston Construction, Bankruptcy in United Kingdom, factsheet number 99506, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/99506.