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 management of automotive supplier Marelli has announced the closure of its plant in Argentan (Orne) by early 2024, resulting in the loss of 167 jobs. The plant is specialised in the manufacture of throttle bodies, an engine component that controls air intake and has a major impact on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. According to management, the plant will have to cope with a significant drop in orders in 2024, and forecasts for the following years are also down sharply. Management confirmed to employees that the plan is to relocate production to Slovakia. Two weeks earlier the announcement, the group had declared the closure of the Crevalcore site (230 employees) in Italy. The closure also affected another plant in France, at Saint-Julien-du-Sault (Yonne), with 125 job losses announced. The trade unions are not surprised by this announcement. The workforce went on strike for around twenty days at the beginning of the year.
Eurofound (2023), Marelli Argentan France, Offshoring/Delocalisation in France, factsheet number 200422, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/200422.