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.
Abbey National has announced that up to 2,000 jobs are to be cut in 2006, on top of the 4,000 which have gone since the takeover by Banco Santander in late 2004. News of the planned job cuts came as Abbey announced it had turned pre-tax losses of £21 million in 2004 into profits of £596 million in 2005. A spokesman said the bulk of jobs going would be "back office" posts.
When Santander took over Abbey in November 2004, the British bank employed 24,500 staff. By the end of 2005 that number had fallen to 20,500. The cuts helped deliver savings of £224 million - well up on initial expectations of £100 million. Mr Gómez-Roldán said the bank had exceeded targets set for 2005. 'We've made a good start towards achieving our three year turnaround and long term goal of becoming the best retail bank in the UK.'
Eurofound (2006), Abbey, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 62912, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/62912.