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.
(61 - 63) Information / Computing 62 - Computer programming, consultancy and related activities 62.9 - Other information technology and computer service activities 62.90 - Other information technology and computer service activities
New offshoring locations
Estonia
, Germany
290 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
23 January 2023
Employment effect (start)
6 March 2023
Foreseen end date
Description
The Finnish retailer of refurbished cellphones, Swappie, announces that up to 290 of its employees at the company’s refurbishment factory in Kalasatama, Helsinki, could be facing changes in their employment. The company plans to concentrate its refurbishment operations by moving repair operations outside Finland, mainly to Estonia and Germany.
Swappie has initiated cooperation negotiations with staff representatives, as an attempt to improve efficiency and cost savings. The company’s business activity has been affected by both rising inflation and decreasing web sales. Rising interest rates have in turn made financing harder to come by for growth-oriented companies such as Swappie.
Swappie was considering reducing its number of employees already in June 2022, by laying off up to 250 employees globally. Only a few months earlier the company had announced its goals to increase its staff by 1,000 employees by the end of 2022. During 2021 the company planned to hire up to 400 employees at its Helsinki office, and 200 people in Tallinn, Estonia, due to rapid business growth and expansion.
Swappie has around 1,000 employees globally, of which 503 were in August 2022 employed by the Finnish parent company.
Sources
23 January 2023: Helsingin Sanomat (HS) (www.hs.fi)
Eurofound (2023), Swappie, Offshoring/Delocalisation in Finland, factsheet number 108249, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/108249.
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