Artificial Intelligence and dismissal for justified objective reason: the Rome court’s “landmark” judgment

With judgment No. 9135 of 19 November 2025, the Rome Court – Labour Section directly addressed an issue that is set to become increasingly central to corporate organisational choices: the lawfulness of dismissal when job duties are absorbed by artificial intelligence (AI).

This is one of the first Italian decisions to deal expressly with the replacement of human activities by AI systems in the context of a corporate restructuring.

Against the background of this ruling, let us examine what entrepreneurs and HR managers really need to know.

The case: not “innovation for fashion’s sake”, but genuine restructuring

The decision concerns the dismissal for justified objective reason of an employee whose duties (marketing and design) had been automated through artificial intelligence tools.

The decisive point, however, was not the use of AI in itself.

The Court found that the company was facing:

• a critical economic and financial situation;
• an effective restructuring process;
• a halving of its workforce (from 20 to 10 employees).

The introduction of AI was viewed as part of an organisational reshuffle and a cost-containment strategy, not as an arbitrary or merely experimental choice.

The legal principle applied

The legal basis remains the traditional one of dismissal for justified objective reason. The Court reaffirmed that:

• the suppression of a position is lawful if it forms part of an actual organisational or technological restructuring;
• the judge cannot review the economic expediency of the entrepreneur’s business decision;
• verification of the so-called repêchage obligation remains essential, namely the possibility of redeploying the employee to other compatible duties.

In other words, it is not artificial intelligence that “justifies” the dismissal, but rather a concrete and documented organisational restructuring.

AI is the tool through which the reorganisation is implemented.

Automation and the lawfulness of dismissal: what really matters

From an operational perspective, the judgment offers several clear indications:

• An objective context is required – the mere desire to “innovate” or “digitise” is not enough. A coherent organisational and economic framework is necessary.
• Internal consistency is required – if the company selectively reduces staff while at the same time hiring for similar roles, the risk of litigation increases.
• Repêchage remains central – even in the age of AI, the employer must verify whether the employee can be reassigned to equivalent or lower-level duties, where available.
• Documentation is decisive – business plans, internal reports, cost-benefit analyses and restructuring plans all become evidence of the genuineness of the decision.

Artificial intelligence is not the problem (nor a magic solution)

This judgment – contrary to what some have mistakenly emphasised with particular insistence, speaking of the dawn of an imaginary “new world” – does not create a new category of dismissal. It applies established principles to a new technology.

If we look at industrial history, every technological leap – from mechanisation to digitisation, and then to software automation – has produced similar effects:

• the reduction of certain duties;
• the transformation of others;
• the emergence of new professional roles.

From a legal perspective, AI is no different: it is an organisational tool. Revolutionary, certainly. Disruptive, yes. But still a tool.

A message for entrepreneurs and HR managers

The point is not to fear artificial intelligence, nor to adopt it uncritically. The point is to govern change.

Companies that approach innovation with legal awareness, with organisational planning, and with careful attention to employment law obligations can integrate AI without exposing themselves to unnecessary risks.

Those who understand that every technological transformation also has a cultural, philosophical and social impact are in a position to lead it — rather than undergo it.

Our position

At BACCIARDI PARTNERS, we do not see artificial intelligence as a threat. We see it, rather, as a new stage in organisational evolution.

Just as in the past we have supported companies through the transition to digitisation, industrial automation and new working models, today we address the integration of AI into business processes with the same approach: realism, without naive enthusiasm and without paralysing fears. Technology changes. Legal principles remain — and adapt.

And perhaps the real difference, once again, will be made by those who are able to understand change before others do.