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 machinery producer Engel headquartered in Schwertberg (Upper Austria) is to reduce its Austrian workforce by about 400 to 1,800 within an indefinite time period. The sites affected are - aside from the headquarters - St. Valentin and Dietach/Steyr, both located in Upper Austria likewise. 200 workers are planned to be dismissed, while the same number of employees shall be made redundant by applying early retirement schemes, part-time schemes for older employees and training leave. Part of them are planned to be re-employed as soon as the order situation, in particular with regard to the automotive industry, will have improved. The planned redundancies are due to dramatic losses in orders. This information was released by the company on 28 May 2009. Engel is one of the world's largest manufacturers of injection moulding machines and of plastics processing machines and employs almost 3,800 workers worldwide.
Eurofound (2009), Engel, Internal restructuring in Austria, factsheet number 69049, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/69049.