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 Italian company Caf Italia, part of the Spanish group "Construcciones y auxiliar de ferrocarilles" active in the production and maintainance of railway rolling stock announced the beginning of a collective dismissal procedure for 233 workers.
The decision is connected to a judicial dispute concerning the assignment of a six year long contract for the maintenance of the high-speed trains Frecciarossa which Trenitalia awarded to Caf Italia in March 2019. The previous assignee, Hitachi, appealed the decision to the administrative court which revoked the assignment of the contract to Caf Italia and assigned it to Hitachi. In the meantime, Caf Italia hired 224 worker to carry out the contract. However, according to the company, the decision of the court produced the need to reduce personnel, which is now structurally redundant with respect to the changed organisational and production needs.
The dismissal plan will affect workers in the seats of Firenze, Foligno, Napoli Gianturco, Roma San Lorenzo, Torino e Milano Martesana.
Eurofound (2019), Caf Italia, Internal restructuring in Italy, factsheet number 98923, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/98923.