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 heat pump manufacturer Thermia, owned by the german company Stiebel Eltron, is dismissing 43 consultants from their factory in the Swedish town Arvika. This due to a decreasing number of sales within the heat pump industry. In December 2023, an initial 29 consultants were dismissed from the company for the same reason.
The CEO of the company, Magnus Glavmo, argues that EU and the member states must prioritize fossil free energy, but that the current low prices on gas will continue to contribute to a negative trend on the heat pump market.
Thermia manufactures heat pumps for residential use as well as industrial use and employed almost 280 persons in Sweden in 2022.
Eurofound (2024), Thermia, Internal restructuring in Sweden, factsheet number 200932, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/200932.