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.
Ebusco, a Dutch bus manufacturer, is taking steps to avoid bankruptcy. It’s consolidating operations in the Netherlands by merging its Deurne and Venray sites, aiming to save €30 million annually. Layoffs have already begun. It has been announced that at least 100 jobs will be directly cut. It is unknown which units are the most affected by the job cuts.
The reasons for these job cuts are mainly financial. After losing a court case, Ebusco lost a significant order for 45 buses from Qbuzz, putting it in severe financial distress. The company plans to reallocate these buses to other clients, but this won’t generate revenue until 2025. Ebusco also has overdue bills and fines for late deliveries of buses worth 33 million euros, and it is negotiating with various clients to sell 61 cancelled buses.
As part of the restructuring, Ebusco will further outsource its production, with buses designed in-house but assembled by contractors, reducing its production sites from seven to five.
Ebusco, established in 2012 and headquartered in Deurne, Netherlands, specialises in developing, producing, and distributing fully electric city and regional buses.
Eurofound (2024), Ebusco, Internal restructuring in Netherlands, factsheet number 201872, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/201872.