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.
JetBrains, a Czech software company that develops tools for software developers and project managers, announced its plans to launch offices in Cyprus, in the cities of Limassol and Paphos. The company had already relocated 170 of its employees to the island, and it plans to increase its workforce by at least 100 people in the next months.
The director of the company, Elena Prohaskova, stated that the diverse international environment for start-ups, business entrepreneurs, independent developers and big tech companies that Cyprus has created, as well as the international community, the island's rich history, the wide use of English and the excellent schools and universities, form a unique mix that can drive the technology sector. Moreover, Maxim Shafirov, the CEO of JetBrains, underlined the importance of the support they received from Invest Cyprus (the investment promotion agency of the Government of Cyprus).
JetBrains has offices in many cities around the world, including, inter alia, Prague, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Munich, Amsterdam, Boston (Massachusetts), Foster City (California) and Marlton (New Jersey); as a response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, the company suspended sales and R&D activities in Russia indefinitely. As of June 2022, JetBrains employs 1,900 people worldwide.
Updated 14/10/2022
As of October 2022, the company's branches in Cyprus have reached 220 employees, and the hiring of at least another 80 people is currently in progress (no information on when the vacancies will be filled).
Eurofound (2022), JetBrains, Business expansion in Cyprus, factsheet number 107523, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/107523.