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.
In May 2007, Delphi, a manufacturer of vehicle cables, announced the closure of its factory in Guarda by the end of that year, affecting all its 700 employees. This decision was justified by the end of the contract for the production of vehicle cables for Renault and Peugeot, two of the main Delphi’s clients. In early June 2007 it was announced that a manufacturer of wind energy towers had offered employment to 50 employees affected by the closure of Delphi. The same company added that it might have offered 50 additional jobs to the dismissed employees at a later stage. At the end of 2007, Delphi announced the deferral of the foreseen dismissals to 2008: 100 dismissals in May and another 400 between July and August. In May 2008, Delphi confirmed the dismissal of 526 employees of its factory in Guarda by the end of 2008. A first wave of dismissals will affect 350 workers and will take place in July / August. These dismissals were already expected but, according to the Inter-trade unions Commission of the Metallurgists the dismissals were to be implemented over a longer period of time. However, this decision was precipitated by the end of a large order by Fiat.
Eurofound (2007), Delphi, Closure in Portugal, factsheet number 65404, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/65404.