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.
Avatel, a Spanish telecommunications company, has launched a new Employment Redundancy File (ERE) affecting 302 employees, or 25% of its 1,195-strong workforce across 144 centres in Spain. The company justifies the move on organisational and production grounds, though unions expect the number of affected workers to decrease as negotiations progress. The negotiation committee has been formally established on 21 January, following Avatel’s official notice earlier this month. This new ERE comes less than two years after a similar process in 2024.
Union representatives have expressed concern and confusion over the new layoffs, given that the previous ERE was not fully executed, and aim to minimise job losses and explore alternatives to dismissals. Meanwhile, Avatel management suggests that the restructuring is essential to ensure the company’s long-term viability, where decisions Will be based on productivity and economic data.
This new ERE comes less than two years after a similar restructring process event in 2024 Avatel 2024-ES
Eurofound (2026), Avatel, Internal restructuring in Spain, factsheet number 204010, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/204010.