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 31 August 2017, the German industrial group ThyssenKrupp announced to cut 1,000 jobs in its Industrial Solutions division as part of an internal restructuring. This includes the closure of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) site in Emden. All 220 employees will be offered a job at a different ThyssenKrupp site (Bremen, Hamburg and Kiel). Furthermore ThyssenKrupp will cut 144 jobs at its sites in Neubeckum and Ennigerloh which have 1,500 employees. The exact distribution is yet to be announced, bearing in mind that Neubeckum with its four-digit employee number is the larger site. Further information regarding the allocation of the cuts and a timeframe will be announced shortly.
The plan to cut 1,000 jobs in Germany is part of ThyssenKrupp's overall strategy of cutting 1,500 jobs in its Industrial Solutions division worldwide. This is due to small order numbers as well as a low profitability in its marine sector in the last years.
These job reductions are an addition to previously announced cuts of up to 1,250 jobs in administration by 2020 (ThyssenKrupp, 2017). Also, in April 2017 ThyssenKrupp announced to cut 330 jobs (ThyssenKrupp, 2017).
ThyssenKrupp has 156,000 employees worldwide.
Eurofound (2017), ThyssenKrupp, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 91850, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/91850.