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.
As announced on 11 December 2025, the German railway operator Deutsche Bahn plans to cut around 1,000 of the 3,500 positions in its corporate headquarters. The new structures are to be in place by 1 January 2026.
The executive board will be streamlined from eight to six portfolios, and the top‑management layer will be halved. The boards at the subsidiaries DB Fernverkehr, DB Regio, and DB InfraGO will also be reduced. The final number of cuts is yet to be named.
The aim is to decentralise the organisation so that decisions can be taken more efficiently on the ground. Deutsche Bahn employs around 220,000 people in Germany.
Eurofound (2025), Deutsche Bahn, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 203856, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/203856.