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.
On 1 December 2009, the insolvent retail chain Karstadt announced restructuring measures affecting almost 1,200 employees by 31 March 2010. The measures include both the closure of some stores and the internal restructuring of others.
Stores will be closed in Kaiserslautern (191 employees), Ludwigsburg (109) and Hanau (85 ). Also affected by the restructuring are locations in Celle (54), Dortmund (157), Hamburg (105), Hannover (147), Kiel (155), Munich (157) and Recklinghausen (17).
Negotiations with employee representatives to set up a social plan will start soon. The setting up of a transfer agency is considered as well as the reassignment of some employees to other stores. Karstadt is owned by the insolvent Arcandor group. The insolvency administrator stated that after the restructuring, a total of 120 stores will be left, which currently employ around 1,700 employees. For these stores the administrator seeks to set up an insolvency plan and is looking for investors.
Eurofound (2009), Karstadt, Internal restructuring in Germany, factsheet number 69972, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/69972.