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 mail order company 3 Suisses announced that 674 posts out of 3000 in France will be cut, of which 354 are linked to the closure of five call centres in Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nantes and Rouen. It is reported that the management will not resort to direct dismissals but will look for alternative measures such as re-employment in associated companies or voluntary redundancy.
As far back as December 2008, the management was planning a re-organisation of its activities, as a result of the rise of its sales via the Internet. At the time, it denied that it was seeking 400 job cuts that had been announced in the press.
The trend to focus on internet sales has also hit other mail order companies. Trade unions have condemned the lack of concrete proposal to re-allocate the posts that have been cut. The CFDT has recommended that new competencies in internet sales be developed. To reach an agreement on the reinsertion of the staff, trade unions are asking for social dialogue.
Eurofound (2009), 3 Suisses, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 68232, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/68232.