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.
Semiconductor manufacturer for the renewable energy sector Saunier Duval- a subsidiary of the German group Vaillant- has announced to hire 130 people in next year at its plant in Nantes; it is part of a recruitment plan aimed at increasing the workforce by 50% by 2030, which will support the switch from wall-mounted gas boilers to heat pumps. The company is looking for several roles: production operators, technicians and support functions (industrialisation, maintenance, logistics, digital, etc.) as well as R&D technicians and engineers. The increase in the workforce is in line with the rise in renewable energy products, which will account for 30% of turnover in 2021, compared with 6% in 2018. The plant, which is the largest integrated heat pump production site in France, will generate sales of €260 million, up 10% per year by 2021. To support this change, Saunier Duval will invest €10 million per year in its site.
The plant currently employs 650 people, plus 150 temporary workers and 111 employees in the three related companies dedicated to spare parts, central functions and services units.
A former recruitment announcement was recorded in the ERM database in 2020 with 115 job creations (Saunier-Duval-2020-FR).
Eurofound (2022), Saunier Duval, Business expansion in France, factsheet number 106973, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/106973.