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.
SCAVI Europe, a textile company created in 1988 specializing in lingerie and t-shirts manufactured in France, relocated in 2021 its production from Asia (sourcing from four suppliers located in Vietnam and one in Laos) to Saran, France. Operating from a single site in Saran with approximately 85 employees, the company experienced increasing demand from major brands, necessitating the recruitment of new personnel. Given the decreasing sewing profession in France, the company launched a recruitment and training project in 2021, to recruit and train 50 people, successfully hiring 46 with plans to add 24 more by April 2023. The strategic decision to reshore is driven by the desire to regain lost expertise. Pierre Fournier, the director of SCAVI Europe, emphasizes that French customers are asking for "made in France" products, aligning with their social and environmental responsibility. The shift toward e-commerce trends has also led brands to encourage Scavi to expedite deliveries.
Eurofound (2021), Scavi Europe, Reshoring in France, factsheet number 275, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/275.