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.
In France, the Dell management has negotiated a voluntary departure plan (based on a collective dismissal contract / so called rupture conventionnelle collective) to cut 323 positions this year in France on the Montpellier (Hérault) and Bezons (Val-d'Oise) sites. It means that more than 17% of the workforce will loss their job. The agreement reached with the unions specifies that Dell intends to use artificial intelligence 'in the short term' in activities such as 'marketing and human resources'. As far as departure conditions are concerned, the agreement provides for accompanying measures such as compensation of 1.7 months' salary per year of seniority up to 13 years (1.9 for those aged over 50) and between 1.2 and 1.4 months for each additional year.
This agreement might be part of the jobs cut worldwide announced in 2023 Dell 2023 - WO.
Eurofound (2024), Dell, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 201164, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/201164.