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.
Saunier Duval is announcing a redundancy plan involving 250 jobs at its Nantes site, which employs 750 people at the production unit, following the downturn in the heat pump market. 50 jobs were already cut in May, in another units nearby the affected production unit. Of the 250 jobs affected, 180 to 190 will be production-related, with the remainder in support functions, management and technicians.
The company had already taken steps to reduce its workforce, notably by letting 90 employees to other manufacturers in Nantes, including Airbus, ACB, Vibracoustic and Vorwerk work temporarly for those firms.
Negotiations on the social plan (PSE) will start in September, with a view to implementation in early 2025. If voluntary redundancies are not enough, compulsory redundancies are planned from April 2025. Management also wants to promote age-related measures with early retirements. To minimise the number of job cuts, the CFDT union is proposing to relocate certain activities that have been exported to other European countries, such as Slovakia.
Eurofound (2024), Saunier Duval, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 201405, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/201405.