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.
As announced on 24 August 2020, the German plant engineering company Siempelkamp will cut 260 jobs at its site in Krefeld due to internal restructuring. The company announced a restructuring programme to secure the company’s competitiveness in the future. Siempelkamp is expecting a lower volume of orders from Europe and the United States of America, making an adaptation to this new environment necessary. The focus of the restructuring programme will be on process optimisation.
Management will start negotiations with the works’ council regarding a social plan shortly.
Siempelkamp has 2,919 employees worldwide.
Updated, 25/11/2020:
As announced on 25 November 2020, Siempelkamp will only be cutting 214 jobs at its Krefeld plant. This is the result of negotiations between management and works’ council. Cuts will be made via early-retirement programmes and operational redundancies. The number of operational redundancies will depend on how many people will transfer to a just set up transfer company (where they would receive 85% of the salary).
Eurofound (2020), Siempelkamp , Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 101609, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/101609.