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.
Chinese multinational Lenovo announced the building of its first European in-house production site in the town of Üllő, near Budapest. The factory will begin production in the spring of 2021. Employment is expected to reach 1000, with hiring taking place in several waves.
The plant will primarily produce desktop computers, graphic workstations and data centre products. The factory is financed through a capital investment of €24.8 million and a government subsidy of around €6 million.
Previously, Lenovo products were manufactured in Hungary through contractors. The new factory will allow in-house manufacturing and an increase in productive capacity. According to existing plans, domestic suppliers will be involved in the production process with 90% of output aimed for export markets.
According to a senior Lenovo manager, the company selected Üllő from a range of potential European sites due to its central location, good transport infrastructure, the availability of a skilled workforce and the favourable business conditions. The investment is part of Lenovo’s global expansion strategy that combines outsourced and in-house manufacturing processes.
The new plant will strengthen the Hungarian electronics industry, already the second most important industrial branch in the country after the auto industry.
Eurofound (2020), Lenovo Global Technology Company, Business expansion in Hungary, factsheet number 102036, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/102036.