The Warehouse rejects union claims of AI job cuts and bathroom tracking
Unionized workers at The Warehouse in New Zealand are striking over concerns regarding AI-driven job cuts and workplace surveillance. The company has denied these claims, labeling them as false.
Why it matters
The dispute highlights growing tensions between labor unions and corporations over the implementation of automation and AI in the workplace.
The Warehouse is refuting claims by unionised staff that AI is impacting jobs, as the workers get set to strike.
More than 300 unionised members of The Warehouse’s Auckland and Christchurch distribution centre teams will go on strike today over fears of major redundancies due to artificial intelligence technologies.
But The Warehouse Group’s chief people officer has refuted the claims, including a suggestion from the union that staff have relieved themselves on the floor while working to avoid being tracked for bathroom stops.
The strike will see workers from The Warehouse’s distribution centres (DC) walk off the job for 24 hours, with designated picket lines today from 12pm to 2pm.
Workers First organiser Hayley Courtney said workers were not opposed to new technology to improve efficiency, but wanted certainty over their futures and protection against unmitigated redundancies.
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