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.
As announced on 21 February 2024, the German dairy company Theo Müller will be shutting down two of its Landliebe production sites in Baden-Württemberg gradually by mid-2026, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs.
The affected sites are Heilbronn and Schefflenz. According to a comprehensive economic analysis by the company, there is no possibility for both production sites to become profitable in the long-term again. As a consequence, both sites will be shut down gradually until 2026.
Management and works’ council have started negotiations and intend to make the reduction as socially acceptable as possible.
Eurofound (2024), Theo Müller, Closure in Germany, factsheet number 200877, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/200877.