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 electricity company RWE announced to close two of its plants at the end of 2020, affecting 254 employees. After the German Federal Network Agency announced the need to close the two RWE plants, the company now has to implement job cuts at its plants in Hamm and Ibbenbürren (North Rhine-Westphalia). The closure of the coal-fired power plants is part of the transition to carbon neutral economy as RWE aims to become climate neutral by 2040. Already in summer 2020, the company has concluded a collective agreement preventing dismissals due to operational reasons. Therefore, the company will now start negotiating with its works council on job redundancy solutions that are socially acceptable. As of 1 December 2020, there is no news on a final date by which the job cuts need to be implemented.
Eurofound (2020), RWE, Closure in Germany, factsheet number 102890, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/102890.