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 Dutch carbon anode factory Aluchemie in Botlek, Rotterdam, has closed and all 220 employees have lost their jobs. The company could no longer compete with China: it was no longer profitable to produce anodes at a competitive price. Carbon anodes are required to produce aluminium; for each ton of aluminium, over 425 kilos of anodes are needed.
The company planned the closure and worked on a social plan with the FNV, a Dutch Union. People can choose between an outplacement program or a personal budget of €4000 to convert their work experience and knowledge into the necessary certificates. Companies in the region have been contacted to help employees to find a new job elsewhere in the Rotterdam port.
The company was founded in 1964 by the Swiss group Alusuisse, which had aluminum smelters at various locations around the Atlantic Ocean, including in the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, and Canada. Aluchemie has been a global player for many years, but from 2005 it has been overtaken by production from China.
Eurofound (2021), Aluchemie, Closure in Netherlands, factsheet number 106212, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/106212.