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.
German multinational engineering group Siemens announced plans to recruit about 1,000 new employees over the next two years in Cuxhaven.
The company is building a new production site for offshore wind turbines where production will start in summer 2017. The company has already started hiring new employees. New positions created will range from factory production, sales, lean and quality management, occupational safety and logistic. For the production launch Siemens will need 275 people. About 1,000 employees in total will be needed by the end of 2018 to work in 3 shifts.
The jobcenter in Cuxhaven supports potential candidates who were previously long-term unemployed through up-skilling measures. In September 2016, 240 long-term unemployed started 18-month's apprenticeships with the aim of improving their skills. Apprenticeship programmes range from industrial electricians and metal technicians to coaters. These courses are subsidised by the European Social Found (ESF) with an amount of €2.5 million.
Only in March 2016, the company announced to cut up to 2,000 jobs in Germany (Siemens, 2016). Siemens currently employs about 114,000 staff in Germany and 348,000 staff worldwide.
Eurofound (2016), Siemens, Business expansion in Germany, factsheet number 88619, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/88619.