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 19 November 2020, the German steel and engineering giant ThyssenKrupp will be cutting 385 jobs due to internal restructuring. Management and works council have already agreed to a social plan. ThyssenKrupp will be splitting its plant construction unit for the automotive industry into two independent units – a vehicle-body assembly operations unit and a drive and batterie assembly operations’ unit. In the latter unit, 228 jobs will be cut and in the vehicle-body assembly operations unit 157 jobs will be cut. Affected plants include: Hohensteil-Ernstthal, Chemnitz, Bremen, Heilbronn, Lockweiler, Langenhagen and Burghausen.
According to the workers union IG Metall, there has been no consultation regarding the job reduction with ThyssenKrupp management. IG Metall rejects cost cutting measures which focus on employee reductions.
Currently, ThyssenKrupp has 3,000 employees in both branches combined.
There is currently a large scale job reduction programme at ThyssenKrupp (ThyssenKrupp, 2020).
Eurofound (2020), ThyssenKrupp, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 102583, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/102583.