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.
Alenia, a Finmeccanica company operating in the aeronautical sector, has announced a 2012-13 reorganization plan that envisages around 1,200 job-cuts. The plan has followed the merger between Alenia and Aermacchi, an Alenia subsidiary. In particular, the plan provides for the closure of the plant located at Casoria (near Naples) and the transfer of various workers from the plants located at Nola and Pomigliano to the plants located at Rome. Moreover the plan envisages the outsourcing of stock management activities, which should affect around 500 workers.
For the redundant workers, the company provides for recourse to some social shock absorber measures, such as the "mobility" allowances and the Wage Guarantee Fund schemes.
Update 09.11.2011: After around one month of negotiations, on November 8th, Alenia and the main sectoral trade unions reached an agreement on the 2012-13 reorganization plan. The agreement envisages 747 job-cuts, instead of the 1,200 previously announced. The redundant workers will benefit from a three-year scheme of extraordinary Wage Guarantee Fund and mobility allowances for the next four years. The agreement provides for the redundant workers economic incentives which add to allowances provided by the social shock absorber measures. During the next seven years the workers will reach the requisites for retirement. The job-cuts will affect the plants located at Pomigliano d'Arco (241), Torino Caselle (99), Venegono (95), Nola (81), Turin (72), Capodichino (63), Foggia (34), Casoria (23), Venezia (22) and Grottaglie (17).
Moreover, the reorganization plan envisages new investments for the next nine years (around EUR 3.2 billion) and 500 new jobs in the next two years: in particular, 300 new jobs by the end of 2012 in the plants located in Campania, Piedmont and Puglia regions and 200 new jobs by the end of 2013 (probably in the new plant located at Cameri, in Piedmont).
Alenia is a leading worldwide manufacturer of aircrafts for both commercial and defense markets. It has around 11,000 employees.
Eurofound (2011), Alenia, Internal restructuring in Italy, factsheet number 72452, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/72452.