Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
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.
Viking Line, a Finnish ship company, announced that it will register its passenger ship Viking XPRS, sailing between Estonia and Finland, under Finnish flag. As a result, 175 people from Estonia will lose their jobs in the first quarter of 2023. The affected employees are largely from the services fields (including administrators, electricians, cooks, warehouse workers, sellers and shop assistants, waiters and bartenders), but stewards, senior sailors and senior motorists will also lose their jobs. They can submit applications to work under Finnish flag, but according to the Estonian Seamen’s Independent Union, only a few would potentially get the opportunity to work there.
The company has justified the decision for this relocation as it would ease staff recruitment and enable staff management without intermediaries. In addition to this, a representative of the Estonian ship company Tallink, has added that the decision is motivated by Viking Line's sale of its Rosella vessel to a Greek company, which would mean that around 200 Finnish employees would lose their job once the ownership transfer is completed. As the dismissal procedure in Finland is more difficult and costly, compared to that in Estonia, Viking Line's decision to register Viking XPRS under Finnish flag would enable it to move its former Rosella crew to Viking XPRS. The Estonian Seamen's Independent Union agreed with and understands the reasons brought out by both Viking Line and Tallink.
Viking XPRS has been registered under Estonian flag since 2014.
Eurofound (2022), Viking Line, Offshoring/Delocalisation in Estonia, factsheet number 108112, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/108112.
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