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.
German plastic and chemical company Covestro has announced that it plans to reduce up to 1,700 jobs worldwide – of which 950 in Germany – by the end of 2023. The restructuring programme is due to the strategic focus on the circular economy and the new group structure, as Covestro intends to convert to a chemical recycling company.
The spokesperson reveals the programme will include voluntary dismissal programmes, early retirement schemes and natural departure, as compulsory redundancies are not permitted under the collective agreement by 2025. The source reports that a final decision on number has to be taken in the near future. The conditions of the programme will be negotiated with employees’ representatives as the dismissals should be as socially acceptable as possible.
Covestro is a German company which produces a variety of polyurethane and polycarbonate based raw materials. It is a Bayer spin off formed in the fall of 2015 and was formerly called Bayer MaterialScience. Currently, the company employs about 17,000 people worldwide.
Eurofound (2021), Covestro, Internal restructuring in World, factsheet number 105208, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/105208.