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 management of the SKF plant in Saint-Cyr-Sur-Loire (Indre-et-Loire) has announced to its Social and Economic Committee (CSE) the loss of 110 jobs out of the 1,200 on the site. It will take effect from April 2021 and will take place throughout the year. The site is specialised in the manufacture of ball bearings for the automotive sector. The COVID-19 health crisis has accentuated the fall in production recorded since 2016.
According to the management the evolution of the automobile market explains these cuts: 'We know that the automobile industry is generally moving towards the electric car market, so manufacturers have less and less need for our parts. It's a technological trend that pushes us to cut jobs, because we see fewer projects in these fields'. On a global scale, SKF focuses above all on competitiveness and profitability.
The Avallon site (141 emploees, Yonne) has already suffered the consequences of this strategy since the factory should close at the beginning of 2023 as announced on 2 November 2020. The employees affected by this decision should be transferred to the Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire site. On 15 September, SKF has also announced 123 job cuts out on a total workforce of 347 employees in its site at Lons-le-Saunier (Jura).
Eurofound (2020), SKF France, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 102400, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/102400.