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.
The Riva Group announced during an extraordinary works council meeting its intention to dismiss 180 workers from the hot phase operations at the Thy-Marcinelle steel site in Charleroi. The plant, which produces metal coils, has been operating at reduced capacity for several months due to strong competition from Asian imports and a slowdown in the construction sector.
In February 2025, the company was granted permission to apply a temporary suspension scheme for one year, under which workers alternated between 18 weeks of unemployment and one week of work.
At the beginning of 2025, the site employed fewer than 500 workers, but this number has declined further due to voluntary departures linked to the company’s difficulties. Trade unions have scheduled a general assembly for employees on Monday to discuss the situation.
Eurofound (2026), Thy-Marcinelle, Internal restructuring in Belgium, factsheet number 203991, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/203991.