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.

C&A, the Dutch clothing retailer, is cutting between 300 and 324 jobs in France as part of a major restructuring. The company is closing 24 of its 100 stores across the country, in addition to shutting down 57 small corners in hypermarkets due to failed agreement renewals. Its logistics center in Villenoy (Seine-et-Marne) will also be affected. This move aims to improve C&A’s competitiveness and secure its future, following months of financial difficulties and productivity issues. The restructuring follows the appointment of Tarek Hosni as head of the French branch.
The closures are expected to impact multiple cities, including Lille, Nancy, Tours, Caen and Villenoy, though the final list is still tentative at this date. The company faces intense competition from fast-fashion giants like the Inditex Group, as well as low-cost online platforms such as Shein and Temu.
This marks C&A’s eighth restructuring since 2016, totalling around 800 job cuts over the years. The company has previously shut down around 30 stores in 2020, 14 in 2019, and two major Parisian locations in 2023. Other markets have also seen layoffs, including Germany, where its Mönchengladbach site was affected in 2021.
Previously, other restructurings have been recorded in the ERM database: 145 job cuts in 2022 C&A France 2022 - FR, 216 job cuts in 2020 C&A France 2020 - FR and more than 110 job cuts in 2019 C&A 2019 - FR.
Eurofound (2025), C&A , Closure in France, factsheet number 202547, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/202547.