Technological changes are transforming the labor market, and in the first three months of 2026 the number of people laid off in Lithuania tripled, and there have also been more cases of mass layoffs.
About a third of the job cuts have occurred in the metalworking sector, and demand for workers has also decreased in the information technology sector, where the need for lower-level positions has decreased (at the same time, the demand for high-level specialists has increased). In some companies, changes are also visible in the offices. At the Danske Bank customer service center in Vilnius, not all employees even have their own desks, as hybrid work and restructuring have changed the appearance of the workplace.
The bank recently announced plans to eliminate 144 positions, but some employees will be offered other work tasks. Indrė Sakalauskienė, a representative of the Danske Bank customer service center, said that artificial intelligence is already changing the demand for competencies, and the trend will continue. She added that the changes are part of restructuring, not exactly an effort to reduce the number of employees.
Employment experts noted that the reduction in the number of employees is most clearly observed in industry. Giedrė Sinkevičė, deputy director of the Lithuanian Employment Service, noted that the number of layoffs has risen sharply in the metalworking sector, calling it a worrying signal.
Vidmantas Janulevičius, president of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, warned that if conditions do not improve, low-value-added industries (such as engineering, woodworking and metalworking) could lose around 30,000 workers in the next couple of years.
He cited rising wages that are outpacing productivity, shrinking export markets and increasing international competition
, especially from Asian countries. Janulevičius said the US is “closing in” and investing in its own industry, leaving the European Union on the sidelines; Lithuania, on the other hand, is in Germany’s supply chain, but the Germans themselves are not doing well.
Officials said that despite the layoffs, demand for skilled workers, such as engineers, remains high, highlighting the unevenness of the labor market. Rising energy prices are putting an additional burden on industry, and have already prompted entrepreneurs to call on the government to consider support mechanisms.
Read the full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2898364/ai-or-deindustrialisation-layoffs-surge-in-lithuania
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