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.
Sharp has applied for a redundancy procedure which will affect 87 employees at its plant in Sant Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona). The company has announced its plan after finalizing the sale of its industrial assets to the Catalan company Cirsa which will use the plant for manufacturing gaming machines. Sharp and the workers committee have achieved an agreement which has altered the initial conditions of the Redundancy Procedure. Finally, it will affect 87 employees rather than 200 employees.
Sharp will therefore stop production of LED televisions in Spain by the beginning of September. The company has announced it intends to maintain its 40 employees in the R&D department and 60 workers in the sales department because it has no intention to withdraw from the Spanish market completely.
Half of the dismissed staff will probably be absorbed by the buying company Cirsa, but the decision has not been finalized yet.
Eurofound (2011), Sharp, Internal restructuring in Spain, factsheet number 72051, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/72051.