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.
Finland's public service broadcasting company Yle has begun cooperation negotiations as a result of a multiannual cost-saving programme initiated by a parliamentary working group in the Fall of 2024. The cost-savings will partly be realised through layoffs and can result in the dismissal of up to 375 employees.
The first of three cooperation negotiation rounds will continue until the beginning of 2025 and will most likely result in dismissals in early February. The second negotiation round will occur sometime in the Spring of 2025, and the third in 2026 or early 2027. The cost-saving programme aims at €66 million in savings for 2025-2027.
According to both the chairman of the local trade union YOT (Ylen ohjelmatyöntekijät) and the chairperson of the Union of Journalists in Finland (Journalistiliitto), these are the largest cooperation negotiations in history in the Finnish media sector. According to the chief shop steward of YOT, the large number of expected dismissals was unexpected and shocking.
In 2023, Yle had approximately 3,360 employees, which includes permanent, fixed-term, hourly and performance-based contracts. Approximately 1,800 employees are under the scope of these cooperation negotiations.
Eurofound (2024), Yle, Internal restructuring in Finland, factsheet number 201892, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/201892.