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.
Esprit's Dutch subsidiary, operating in the fashion retail sector and part of the Hong Kong-based Esprit Holdings, has been declared bankrupt by a court in Amsterdam, leading to the loss of over 200 jobs across its last 17 stores in the Netherlands.
The job cuts primarily affect retail workers as all physical stores have closed, although the Dutch online store will continue operations from Germany. The company cited increasing energy and procurement costs, along with strategic missteps, as reasons for the restructuring.
There are no current plans to revive the Dutch subsidiary, and the bankruptcy reflects broader challenges faced by Esprit’s European operations which have also seen similar actions in Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. The European restructuring programme of Esprit can be found here Esprit-2024-EU.
Eurofound (2024), Esprit, Bankruptcy in Netherlands, factsheet number 201521, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/201521.