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.
Czech logistics and shipping company, KS-Europe, has announced plans to cut up to 170 jobs at its plant in Šťáhlavy near Pilsen by the end of June 2023. The company will stop the production of catalogues as demand for this service declined after the company's international partner, Deutsche Post, ended relations with their biggest client.The layoffs will affect both blue-collar workers and administrative positions, though KS-Europe has declared it will be assisting its former employees in finding work at other nearby companies.KS-Europe is a 100% subsidiary of the German firm Heinrich Heine Beteiligungs and employs almost 1,000 people at its two sites in the Czech Republic (Šťáhlavy, Pilsen-Křimice). The company deals with the processing and distribution of shipments from Czech and multinational companies. KS-Europe annually processes over 30 million returned shipments and completes 500 million advertising prints.
Eurofound (2023), KS-Europe, Internal restructuring in Czechia, factsheet number 108436, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/108436.