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 automotive supplier Autotest аnnounced the shutdown of its production plants in Eisenach, Germany, leading to the dismissal of 140 employees. The closure of the Eisenach plant is scheduled for the end of 2019. According to the company, this step is a strategic response to a lasting orders decline. Autotest indicates that the job cuts shall be realised in a socially acceptable manner. The negotiations with workers' union started in the summer of 2019. However, in November 2019 the negotiations on a social redundancy agreement are still ongoing. The final result will have no impact on the number of job cuts.
Currently, Autotest holds four plants and employs a total of 450 workers in Germany.
Eurofound (2019), Autotest, Closure in Germany, factsheet number 99118, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/99118.