On the eve of May 1, which marks Labor Day, one of the most pressing and debated issues is back in the spotlight: the complex relationship between the world of work and artificial intelligence.
On Thursday, April 30 this year, a labor court in Genoa, Italy, ordered the reinstatement of an employee who was fired along with three other colleagues in January 2025. They were “replaced by artificial intelligence”.
On the eve of Labor Day, May 1, one of the most pressing and debated issues came into focus: the complex relationship between the world of work and artificial intelligence.
It was “unlawful dismissal”
The court ruled that it was an “unlawful dismissal” because it “did not comply with the obligation of repêchage”, which requires that every employer, before dismissing an employee for economic or organizational reasons, check whether he or she can be transferred to another position in the company, albeit with different tasks and fewer working hours.
This is the first case in Italy in which judges have had to rule on artificial intelligence-related dismissals, as noted by the unions supporting the lawsuit.
A woman who worked in the Genoa office of Danish logistics multinational Maersk decided to sue the company after a dismissal motivated by an internal reorganization plan. The other dismissed employees did not take this step and accepted the severance pay offered to them as compensation.
The court order reinstated the employee and she was entitled to compensation for the months during which she had not been paid.
