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.
Hella Lighting Finland has announced that it will disband its manufacturing of LED-products in Salo, Finland and move production to Romania, leading to 165 redundancies. Part of the company's product development and sales division will remain in Salo leaving approximately 15 jobs at the current factory. The redundancies will be executed over time, and the company aims to have disbanded all production by 2018. Employer-employee negotiations were initiated on 10 October 2016.
HELLA is a German company with a total of approximately 30,000 employees.
Updated, 1/12/2016;Following concluded employer-employee negotiations the decision on closing the factory in Salo remains. 165 jobs will be cut and production moved to Romania. The factory will be shut down in stages with the first redundancies scheduled to be carried out during the summer of 2017. All production will be disbanded by the autumn of 2018.
Updated, 20/3/2017;Hella Lighting has decided to keep some of the production of LED-products, especially products for cruise ships and buildings, in Salo, Finland. The factory will therefore not be closed as previously announced. Two reasons are put forward for keeping some production in Salo, Finland. Firstly, the workforce is highly specialised and highly familiar with the manufacturing. Secondly, the Turku Shipyard, a large customer, is growing, which is why production will be kept in close proximity to this customer. In total, 40 jobs will be kept at the factory, including previously announced sales and R&D positions.
Eurofound (2016), Hella Lighting Finland, Offshoring/Delocalisation in Finland, factsheet number 88825, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/88825.