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.
Swedish-capital company Bigso, one of the largest manufacturers of custom made packaging solutions, is to dismiss 45 employees in Siauliai. The main cause of the dismissals is the quarantine regime in Lithuania and other countries. One of the major customers of Bigso is IKEA whose stores are currently closed in many countries. According to the management, in a worst-case scenario, production of the company could fall by three quarters and the company could be forced to lay off even more employees. To control the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), many countries declared quarantine as of mid-March 2020. Currently Bigso employs 448 employees in Siauliai.
Eurofound (2020), Bigso, Internal restructuring in Lithuania, factsheet number 100122, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/100122.