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.
In April 2014, Oberthur Technologies, the French global digital security firm, announced a European-wide reorganisation with 400 job cuts. The group will cut: 132 positions in France (but also create 54 jobs) by closing a site and selling or closing another site, in order to concentrate activities on the plant at Vitré (Ille-et-Vilaine); 206 positions in UK with the closure of the plant at Tewkesbury; and 62 in Spain with the closure of the site of Barcelona. The group has acted due to a decrease in demand for smart cards in Europe and want to maintain its competitiveness and its position of leadership within this sector. Internal and external mobility will be considered before any dismissal. The group has a workforce of 6,000 world-wide.
Eurofound (2014), Oberthur Technologies, Internal restructuring in European Union, factsheet number 76953, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/76953.