How would a Buddhist respond to this question:

$""$The Case of the Plant Relocation

By Karen Musalo

Production costs are rising. Your company can make more money for shareholders by

relocating your plants to a country with lower labour costs and fewer regulations. You

are the chief executive of Electrocorp, an electronics company, which makes the

onboard computer components for automobiles. In your production plants, complex

hydrocarbon solvents are used to clean the chips and other parts that go into the

computer components. Some of the solvents used are carcinogens and must be

handled with extreme care. Until recently, all of your production plants were located in

the United States. However, the cost of production has risen, causing profits to decline.

A number of factors have increased production costs. First, the union representing the

workers in your plant waged a successful strike resulting in increased salary and

benefits. The pay and benefits package for beginning employees is around $$15/$hour$.$ A

second factor has been stringent safety regulations. These safety procedures, which

apply inside the plant, have been expensive in both time and money. Finally,

environmental regulations have made Electrocorp's operations more costly$.$ Electrocorp

is required to put its waste through an expensive process before depositing it at a

special disposal facility.

Shareholders have been complaining to you about the declining fortunes of the

company. Many of Electrocorp's competitors have moved their operations to lessdeveloped countries, where their operating costs are less than in the United States, and

you have begun to consider whether to relocate a number of plants to offshore sites.

Electrocorp is a major employer in each of the U$.$S$.$ cities where it is located, and you

know that a plant closure will cause economic dislocation in these communities. You

know that the employees who will be laid off because of plant closures will have

difficulty finding equivalent positions and that increased unemployment, with its

attendant social costs, will result. However, you are aware of many other corporations,

including your competitors, that have shut down their U$.$S$.$ operations.

Is it moral to relocate the plant"