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.
Celanese, an American multinational focused on the production of chemical products has announced it will be closing its facility in Mechelen therefore 220 jobs are at risk. The company has acquired the facility relatively recently, in 2022. However, soon after the acquisition the company management decided that keeping the facility open was not a viable option, leading to the decision to close the plant. The site management states that making the site profitable again would require significant investments, as it is not up to modern standards in terms of automation and digitalisation. In addition, wage cost is also a factor that was taken into account, as well as uncertainty regarding certain environmental permitions.
Eurofound (2024), Celanese, Closure in Belgium, factsheet number 200998, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/200998.