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.
Betonika, one of the largest manufacturers of prefabricated concrete elements in Europe, is to dismiss 140 employees in Kaunas. On 15 January 2020, the company announced that it was closing its factory in Kaunas. The main causes of the closure were low demand for the company‘s production and high operating costs. It was decided to concentrate production in another factory in Trakai. However, the company did not mention the number of employees affected.
On 6 March 2020, it was reported by the Lithuanian Employment Service that Betonika will lay off 140 employees. Currently the company employs 167 employees in Kaunas. The company did not mention if the remainder 27 employees will be dismissed at a later stage or will be transferred to another factory in Trakai. The company owned two factories in Lithuania, one in Vilnius and the other in Trakai.
The Consolis group is one of the leading industrial groups providing precast concrete structures for the transportation, utilities and building sectors. It has more than 11,000 employees in 21 countries.
Eurofound (2020), Betonika, Internal restructuring in Lithuania, factsheet number 100083, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/100083.