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.
French industrial group Mersen (former Carbone Lorraine), global leader in electrical specialities, has announced a restructuring of its operations in France that will lead to the cut of 130 jobs from its sites in Pagny-sur-Moselle (Meurthe-et-Moselle) and Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure (Rhône). The management has started to negotiate a voluntary dismissal plan for the two sites. The company will cut 80 position out of a total of 410 employees at Pagny-sur-Moselle which produces anticorrosion equipment. 50 jobs out of a total of 230 in the unit of Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure which produces electrical power equipment.
Furthermore, the company has decided to sell its plant of Saint-Loup-de-Naud (Seine-et-Marne), which produces high power load-break switches. Together with the redundancies announced in North America last January, the total job losses will reach 300 between October 2016 and the end of 2017. With its cost saving plan of EUR 45 million, Mersen seek to increase the added value of its products in order to tackle the competition from emerging economies.
Eurofound (2016), Mersen, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 88965, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/88965.