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 chemical company BASF, headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, has announced that it will close two plants in Frankfurt am Main and Hürth and cut 300 jobs.
The background to this is the company's decision to tighten its cost-cutting programme, which was already introduced in 2023 BASF 2023 - DE. The plant closures will primarily take place in energy-intensive areas. This is BASF's response to the rise in energy prices in Germany, which are higher than in previous years despite recent declines.
Production at the Knapsack and Frankfurt sites is to be halted by the end of 2024. According to the company, 120 employees are affected by the reorganisation in Frankfurt and another 180 in Knapsack. All of the approximately 300 jobs will initially be retained until the end of 2025 and will then be gradually reduced in consultation with employee representatives.
BASF Group has around 112,000 employees in almost all industries and in almost every country in the world.
Eurofound (2024), BASF, Closure in Germany, factsheet number 201425, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/201425.