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.
Glashutte Dobern, a glass manufacturer near Dresden, Germany, has made 104 employees redundant. The company has gone into insolvency following a reduction in orders. The remaining 26 employees are being kept on to finish existing orders but may also be made redundant in the event that no more orders come through. The company is currently in negotiations with a client in China, to secure an order for the manufacture of 120,000 glass units. If it secures the order, it will carry it out with the remaing 26 employees. If the order is not secured, the company will close and they will be made redundant.
Eurofound (2008), Glashutte Dobern, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 68127, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/68127.