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.
The ship building group Naval Group has announced the recruitment of 200 people on permanent employment contract for its site of Brest (Finistère) in the framework of an investment of €21 million, twice as much as in previous years. The aim is to modernise the industrial facilities and create a multi-specialty workshop. It is planned to install machines for additive manufacturing (3D printing) and new digital machining equipment. The investment will also be used to further digitalise the various trades of this shipyard, which is mainly specialised in the maintenance of military submarine forces.
Naval Group in Brest currently employs a total of 2,800 people, up from 2,700 in 2016. The group employs 13,429 people on 10 sites in France. Announcements of jobs creation were registered in in March 2018 (200 job creations), in October 2017 (100 job creations), in February 2017 (100 job creations), in 2012 (700 job creations) and in 2011 (100 job creations) but also a restructuring in 2011 (150 job losses).
Eurofound (2019), Naval Group, Business expansion in France, factsheet number 96534, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/96534.