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 Danish textile company Ecco'Let located in Santa Maria da Feira has announced the collective dismissal of 180 workers out of a total workforce of 300. Employees working in production are set to leave the company on 24th April 2009 while the others in October 2009.
Ecco'Let will offer redundant workers a severance pay amounting to 1.25 month wages per year of service. A trade union representative drew attention to the fact that the company has recently received funding from the European Union to enhance production. Production will be transferred to other plants in Indonesia, Thailand and China.
The Portuguese authorities applied for aid from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).
Eurofound (2009), Ecco'Let, Offshoring/Delocalisation in Portugal, factsheet number 68359, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/68359.