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.
On 28 September 2016, German airline Air Berlin announced to cut up to 1,200 jobs. The airline plans a complete overhaul of its business. The job reduction will mainly affect administrative and technical staff. Over the last 3 years the company accumulated losses of around €1.2 billion.
The restructuring foresees to retain 75 out of 144 airplanes and lease 40 airplanes together including crews to Eurowings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa. According to sources, the lease is negotiated for the next six years starting in March 2017 and Air Berlin calculates to cash in €1.2 billion of lease income. Furthermore, 35 more airplanes will be outsourced to a new strategic unit.
Currently, the management is negotiating with the works council and the United Services Union and is expecting a socially acceptable solution by February 2017. For the latest restructuring see (Air Berlin, 2014).
Eurofound (2016), Air Berlin, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 88788, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/88788.