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.
Natuzzi, from Natuzzi Group, is an Italian company that operates in the retail of sofas, armchairs and living room accessories has announced some redundancies. For the 2022-2026 industrial plan, two options were proposed, one containing 512 redundancies (less probable) and another containing 315 redundancies. These options involve the company's Puglia area production sites (Jesce 1, Jesce 2, Ginosa, Laterza, Graviscella).
The first option aims at the reopening of the Ginosa plant and production at five factories. The 315 redundancies would be due to the high cost of product processing and increased efficiency. The second option, with 512 redundancies, involves production in three shifts and at three plants, excluding the Graviscella site. The latter is regarded as less probable at the moment.
The company is committed to managing excess staff through a mix of instruments, such as the expansion contract, the use of part-time, active policies for redeployment, outplacement agreements, redundancy incentives, the solidarity network contract, and the internalisation of foreign activities.
The unions have asked to improve and implement some points of the industrial plan, and in the coming days there will be in-depth meetings. Invitalia will be involved and there will also be incentives from the Ministry of Economic Development.
Eurofound (2022), Natuzzi, Internal restructuring in Italy, factsheet number 106617, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/106617.