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.
Following the announcement of a redundancy plan for 1,077 jobs in January 2020, the retail chain Cora reached an agreement with the trade unions on 22 July concerning the departure of 917 employees as part of a reorganisation of the hypermarkets. An agreement was reached with four of the five unions of the retail chain.
In January, Cora had initiated an information-consultation procedure with the staff representative bodies which could lead to redundancies for economic reasons, following the refusal of 1,077 employees to sign an amendment to their employment contract in the context of a project to transform the group. The number of departures has fallen, with several dozen candidates having finally decided not to leave the group, while the economic situation has deteriorated sharply with the Covid-19 crisis.
The 'Cora company pact', signed on 12 April 2019 with three trade unions (CFTC, CFDT, FO), provided for the development of versatility in exchange for bonuses. The reorganisation aims to halt the decline in hypermarket sales, a segment that has been losing momentum for several years. Of the approximately 7,000 employees affected by the reorganisation, 917 are expected to eventually leave the group, 350 of whom are within three years of retirement and will benefit from improved compensation. The reorganisation aims to halt the decline in hypermarket sales. The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated a process that started earlier, with the hypermarket model losing momentum.
Eurofound (2020), Cora, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 101295, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/101295.