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.
Fedex, an American courier service company and part of the multinational TNT group, has announced it wil dismiss 671 employees in its facility in the airport of Liege. The restructuring is part of a larger European strategy to centralise operations further. Concretely, a part of the actitivies at the airport of Liege will be transferred to Paris Charles de Gaulle. Trade union representatives at Fedex have stated that currently only administrative personnel are affected by the internal restructuring. The larger European effort will in total lead to the dismissal of approximately 6300 employees.
Update 01/07/2021: After the so-called Renault procedure has passed, which involves obligatory negotiations and consultations between the employer and trade unions, the number of dismissals has been reduced to a total of 157.
Update 08/02/2023
In 2022, the airport in Liege was further downsized as part of the plan to make the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport the primary hub. As a result, the final number of dismissed employees is 559.
An application to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to support the redundant workers was filed, for which €1.9 million have been granted.
Eurofound (2021), Fedex, Internal restructuring in Belgium, factsheet number 103025, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/103025.