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.
Safran Seats GB, the British subsidiary of the France-based global aviation and aerospace company, has announced plans to make up to 399 employees redundant. The company is going to close its site in Camberley, England where 200 people are employed. A further cut of 187 jobs is planned in Cwmbran, in South Wales.
The initiative taken by the company is part of the worldwide internal restructuring involving the group Safran. The chief executive of Safran Seats GB said that the restructuring is a response to the COVID-19 epidemic and the significantly reduced demand for aircraft seats.
Representatives of the trade union Unite are highly critical of the company’s decision to cut jobs, since they consider that the UK government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has not been utilised at its full extent.
Safran Seats has four sites in the UK, in Brackley, Braintree and Camberley in England, and in Cwmbran in Wales. It is part of the Safran Group, the world leader in the commercial aircraft seats segment.
Eurofound (2020), Safran Seats, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 100928, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/100928.