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.
Switzerland-based chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has announced that it will cut 2,500 jobs worldwide, including 900 in Europe.
So far, the company announced that the measure will affect at least 300 jobs in Belgium and 48 jobs in Germany. In Belgium, Barry Callebaut has launched the Renault collective redundancy procedure at its three production facilities: Halle, Lokeren and Wieze. In Germany, the company plans to close its factory in Norderstedt.
The layoffs are part of a larger restructuring programme announced in September 2023. The plan aims for a 15% reduction in costs. Under the programme, 2,500 manufacturing and administration jobs are expected to be cut globally over the next 18 months.
Barry Callebaut, a Swiss multinational company, is the biggest chocolate producer in the world. The company operates in 40 countries worldwide. The current restructuring event in Belgium has been recorded in the ERM events database Barry Callebaut-2024-BE.
Eurofound (2024), Barry Callebaut, Internal restructuring in World, factsheet number 200880, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/200880.