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.
Alpina, the Slovenian sportswear manufacturer, is relocating part of its production to Bosnia and Herzegovina, resulting in the reduction of 60 jobs in Slovenia by the end of 2024. The company is reorganizing its business and discontinuing fashion footwear production, as well as partially relocating production in an effort to reduce losses. The production will be moved from Slovenia to a factory in Tesanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The management has stated that high-value-added jobs will remain in Slovenia. Redundancies will only affect production workers and not the one-third of workers in shoe stores.
The company explains the layoff by reduced needs for production capacity, high costs of energy, transport and maintenance, an increase in minimum wages, which led to a 15% increase in wage costs last year, and high competitive pressure in terms of low production prices. In 2020, Alpina faced store closures due to the pandemic and restrictions on entry to stores, and they lost their biggest customers, while production halved in 2021.
The management, in collaboration with the trade union, has developed a redundancy plan considering social criteria to mitigate the impact on the unemployed in the local area.
Currently, the company employs 331 out of 948 employees in Slovenia.
Eurofound (2024), Alpina, Offshoring/Delocalisation in Slovenia, factsheet number 201621, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/201621.