The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Arts / Entertainment Arts, Entertainment And Culture Gambling And Betting Activities 92 - Gambling and betting activities
140 - 150 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
23 December 2022
Employment effect (start)
23 December 2022
Foreseen end date
22 January 2023
Description
Genesis Global Limited, a gaming company based in Ta' Xbiex, Malta, announced plans to lay off approximately 140 members of its Maltese workforce. Established in 2014, the company specialises in mobile-first global gaming and maintains offices in Poland and Gibraltar. Additionally, the company operates a portfolio of 20 casino brands.
Employees were informed in December 2021 that the company had filed for insolvency and that it would be terminating operations in Malta, thus necessitating the redundancies. Prior to this official announcement, the company had already begun shedding its workforce, having laid off 30 to 40 employees as financial difficulties became apparent. The affected employees have been informed that their final day of employment will be January 22, 2023 and that they will be on notice in the interim. They have also been advised to seek guidance from the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations.
This decision was reportedly brought about by a £3.8m fine imposed by the UK Gambling Commission following a two-year investigation, which identified several breaches in anti-money laundering and social responsibility regulations that occurred in 2020. Efforts have been made to provide alternative employment opportunities for the dismissed workers, with some already having secured new positions. The Maltese iGaming Council is providing support to the affected employees and the government has stated that the impact of these redundancies on the job market will be minimal, as there are an estimated 700 vacancies in the iGaming sector.
Eurofound (2022), Genesis Global Limited, Bankruptcy in Malta, factsheet number 108162, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/108162.
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.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
