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.
British textile manufacturer Alison Hayes has announced the closure of its plant in Urziceni which will result in the loss of all 394 jobs (permanent full-time positions). The Urziceni plant will be closed by early May 2017. The company also announced that some 60 workers, supervisors, managers and administrative staff, who are currently employed in Urziceni, will be relocated to the plant in Buzau.
The closure of the plant is mainly attributed to the increase in minimum wages, the poor infrastructure in the area and the weakening of the pound following Brexit.The trade union has so far not reacted to the announcement. According to media reports, needlewomen and seamstresses employed in Urziceni plant receive a gross salary of RON 1,800 — 2,000.
Alison Hayes has 1,339 employees in Romania, of whom 394 employed in Urziceni, 669 in Buzau and 276 in the administrative divisions of the company. The Urziceni plant, which is set to close, was established in 1994.
Eurofound (2017), Alison Hayes, Closure in Romania, factsheet number 90496, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/90496.