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.
ZF Friedrichshafen, one of the main German automotive suppliers, announced its plans to create 2,000 new jobs worldwide in 2014. 500 of the new jobs will be created in Germany, whilst the remaining 1,500 will be spread in its locations worldwide.
ZF Friedrichshafen operates in 26 countries, 19 of which in Europe. The company currently employs about 72,600 people around the world; of these, 41,900 are based at its locations in Germany. In 2013, the company increased its workforce by 6% creating 4,200 new jobs in 2013, 2,000 of which in Germany alone. The ERM has previously reported on other cases of global job creation by ZF Friedrichshafen in 2007, when 3,000 new jobs were created around Europe, and in 2011, where 4,500 new positions were created worldwide.
Eurofound (2014), ZF Friedrichshafen, Business expansion in World, factsheet number 77157, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/77157.