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.
The glass product manufacturer Guardian Luxguard announced the fusion of their two production sites in the south of Luxembourg, Dudelange and Bascharage, which entailed a restructuring process and the potential cut of 201 posts. After lengthy discussions between the management, the government and the representative trade union, the trade union OGBL and the management of Guardian Luxguard II agreed upon signing a job maintenance plan (plan de maintian dans l'emploi) on the 31 of August 2020 for a period of 24 months.
The plan includes early retirement schemes, redeployments of employees within the group and part-time unemployment schemes. During the negotiations, trade unions aimed to redeploy staff to other productions sites of the group in Luxembourg, with the objective to secure jobs and keep competences and skills of employees within the group.
Eurofound (2020), Guardian Luxguard II, Internal restructuring in Luxembourg, factsheet number 101626, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/101626.