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.
Complexul Energetic Oltenia, a coal power producer in South West Romania, has announced that it will cut 600 jobs in 2014. The process will continue over the next years until 3138 jobs are being cut by the end of 2018.
The company, the second national power producer after Hidroelectrica, has to cut its costs with labour and improve its efficiency. The job reductions are part of an internal restructuring plan, imposed by unfavourable market evolution. The higher costs of coal power production resulted in reduced demand for coal extraction and a need to down-size the workforce. The first actions focus on reducing white collars' positions, such as manager, legal adviser, accountant, but also engineer, that are spread all over the company.
At the same time, Complexul Energetic Oltenia is conducting rehabilitation works and constructs new facilities within its energy plants of Craiova, Turceni and Rovinari, and it is modernizing its mining production in various careers: Rovinari Est, Pinoasa, Tismana I ,Tismana II and Jilt Sud.
For details see the companies’ website http://www.eturceni.ro/index.php/noi-capacitati
Eurofound (2014), Complexul Energetic Oltenia, Internal restructuring in Romania, factsheet number 76824, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/76824.