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.
German producer of sugar and sugar confectionary, Pfeifer&Langen, has announced the closure of its plant in Oradea which will result in the loss of all 214 permanent full time positions. The Oradea plant will be closed by early Spring 2018.
The company’s representative stated that the Oradea plant is no longer profitable. One of the main reasons for this as cited by the company, is the comparatively high cost of sugar in Romania, where the company pays €516 per tonne, whereas in Germany and Poland, the price per tonne stands at €320. The trade union has so far not reacted to the announcement.
Negotiations with the management of the plant were initiated in December 2017 by a local company Agroind Cauaceu which tried unsuccessfully to buy the plant from the German owner.
Pfeifer&Langen has 214 employees in Romania through its subsidiary Zaharul Bihor. The Oradea plant, which is set to close, was established in 2011.
Eurofound (2018), Pfeifer&Langen, Closure in Romania, factsheet number 93019, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/93019.