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.
Galeries Lafayette, a French department store group operating in the retail sector, announced the closure of its two stores in Marseille, resulting in 145 job cuts in France. The job losses affect employees at the Centre Bourse and Prado stores in Marseille. The closures are scheduled to take place in November.
The closures are attributed to persistent underperformance of the stores, driven by declining turnover, reduced purchasing power among local customers and the decreasing attractiveness of Marseille’s city centre for the group’s target clientele. Employees and union representatives also point to broader structural challenges facing physical retail, including pricing constraints and competition from online commerce.
Management has stated that redeployment options will be offered to affected employees. The FO trade union is represented locally, with its delegate highlighting both the emotional impact on long-serving employees and the lack of confidence in the proposed redeployment measures.
** Updated, 30/10/2025 ** Galeries Lafayette confirmed the closure of its two stores in Marseille, resulting in 145 job cuts in France. The job losses affect employees at the Centre Bourse and Prado Shopping stores in Marseille. The closures will now take place earlier than initially planned, on 15 November instead of 29 November, following the rapid liquidation of stocks.
Eurofound (2025), Galeries Lafayette, Closure in France, factsheet number 202251, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/202251.