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, the American parcel delivery specialist, plans to cut up to 279 jobs in France as part of an Employment safeguard plan (PSE), after announcing between 5,500 and 6,300 job cuts in Europe. According to the majority CFDT union, these job cuts will mainly affect support functions (sales, finance, human resources, customer service) and very few operational posts. The job cuts concern the 6,050 employees of the road transport branch (FedEx Express FR) and not the other 3,000 or so employees of FedEx FRT (air) who work at the hub at Paris Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport.
A first negotiation meeting with the trade union organisations took place on 27 January. The challenge will be to avoid forced redundancies and to favour voluntary departures. The main reason for the reorganisation stems from the takeover of competitor TNT in 2016 and the need to avoid duplication of functions.
Eurofound (2021), FedEx Express, Merger/Acquisition in France, factsheet number 103339, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/103339.