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.
Talgo is a Spanish company specialised in the production of trains. On 1 April 2004 the company announced that it had registered losses amounting to 18.5 million euros in 2003 which are to be added to the 8.8 million euro losses of 2002. The company had to restructure due to the crisis the train production sector is suffering, making 106 people redundant. On 12 May 2004, regional authorities announced in a Parliamentary Regional Commission that 50 new workers had been hired by the company, the Regional Socialist representative said the measure could be considered as `replacement'. On 19 June 2004, Madrid's regional authorities, after a negative report of the regional Inspector of Labour, have denied authorisation to Talgo to make 106 labour redundant. The immediate consequence is that the 106 dismissed labour have to be relocated in the company. The company has won tender procedures for the next years amounting to over 3,000 million euros.
Eurofound (2004), Talgo, Internal restructuring in Spain, factsheet number 60347, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/60347.