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.
As a result of the bankruptcy of its mother company, 180 workers were made redundant at the Marklin's Hungarian plant in Győr which employs 520. Workers were shocked at the scale of the layoffs announced in the workers assembly of the company's Göppingen (Germany) plant, which was held on 17 March. Hungarian employees expected fewer job cuts on the basis of recent information about negotiations between the city's mayor and directors and managers of Marklin. During these negotiations the company obtained the city's approval for a higher number of job cuts.
The company, which is one of the oldest and largest manufactures of model train sets, with more than 150 years on the market, is also to dismiss 220 workers in Germany at the company's plant Goppingen and close its plant in Nuremberg. The company opted for bankruptcy when it became unable to repay its €21 million debt to its creditors.
Eurofound (2009), Marklin, Internal restructuring in Hungary, factsheet number 68790, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/68790.