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.
Harnessed cable producer Plati Hungary initiated a mass redundancy of 157 employees in Szombathely. Downsizing was triggered by falling demand for the company's products driven by the economic crisis. Among those made redundant 137 are blue collar and 20 are white collar workers. All affected workers had been already informed about the headcount reduction by the time of the announcement. They were dismissed after the mandatory one month notice period.
The production facility in Szombathely (Vas county) was established in January 1995. It produces harnessed cables supplying manufacturers in a variety of markets, which includes the automotive, electric home appliances and the computer industry. The Hungarian plant was the first of the present four foreign enterprises (the other three are located in Poland, China and Ukraine) of Plati, an Italian company, headquartered in Madone (Italy).
Eurofound (2009), Plati Hungary, Internal restructuring in Hungary, factsheet number 70012, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/70012.